Sisters Bound
by Silverstar03
Summary: After a demonic attack Piper is left alone to figure out who she really is and what she has to do to get her life back together. COMPLETED Final Chapter up!
1. A Day in September

Sisters Bound

Part 1 – A Day in September

By: Silverstar

Hello everyone. Yes, I'm back again after a long break from fanfiction. I started college this year, and I've had no time for my writing! But for the past few months I've been dying to write some _Charmed_ fanfiction. In every fan fic I write I try to focus on a different character or aspect of the Charmed Ones' lives, so I had a rough time thinking up a story line for this new fic. Then, it hit me. I haven't done a fic revolving around the girls when they were young, yet I love to read stories like that. So, here it goes. I may be a little rusty since I haven't written in a while, but please enjoy!

Disclaimer (for entire story): I don't own _Charmed_ or any of the characters involved.

Summary: After a demonic attack Piper is left alone to figure out who she really is and what she has to do to get her life back together.

When I was 12 my life changed forever. It all happened on one plain and ordinary Friday night in September. One minute I was laughing along with my big sister Prue at something our little sister Phoebe had said the second before. Grams was in the kitchen putting away groceries and we were discussing which movie we were planning on watching that night. The next minute, chaos surrounded me. There were large men everywhere…no, not men…things. They held fire in their hands and had hideous faces. I remember screaming as Prue pulled Phoebe and me to the ground to avoid the fire. Tears welled up in my eyes as one gave an angry yell and threw fire at the one who had attacked us. We tried to crawl away, but three of them started coming towards us. Then we saw them flying. I turned to see Grams at the door. She looked scared…but angry as well. I noticed she was holding small bottles in her hands. Prue pulled at my arm, and I turned to see her and Phoebe making their way towards Grams. Prue looked scared, but determined to get us to safety. Phoebe had tears falling down her cheeks and was struggling along holding her side. She had been grazed by the fire. I followed as more flames began flying and I heard a few of the creatures yell. I turned just in time to see one of them burst into flames as it's own fire flew back at it. The next thing I knew someone had grabbed my ankle. I screamed and looked back to see one of the creatures.

"Prue! Grams!" I yelled, kicking to get free as the monster started pulling me back. A second later Prue had thrown herself at it, breaking me free as the creature fell backward. I looked back to see it put both arms around Prue and…I blinked as they disappeared…"Prue…?...Prue!..." The chaos around me slowed as I looked for my sister. She was gone…Phoebe was also no where in sight. Adrenaline running through me, I continued to crawl towards my Grandmother. She was throwing small bottles at the remaining creatures, and I watched as they disappeared in flames when the bottles hit. What was going on!

"Piper! Get out!" I heard her yell as I turned to see one monster remaining.

"Grams! Watch out!" I yelled, but the creature had already thrown out its hands and a lightning bolt of energy raced towards my Grandmother as I yelled. I watched in horror as it hit her in the stomach and she immediately and silently fell to the floor. Horrorstruck, I quickly stumbled to her side while the creature laughed. She blinked a few times before sadly smiling at me and reaching into her pocket. I cried over her as she put something into my hand and then went still. I looked down to see a silver pendant with a yellow stone on a long silver chain in my small hand. When I looked back at my grandmother, her eyes starred blankly up at me in a look of terror. I starred back at her with disbelief and confusion. Then, I saw one unbroken bottle grasped by her now slightly cold hand. I quickly reached for it as the monster approached.

"Give up little witch!" I heard it say as it reached its arms out towards me. With no time to think, I popped the cork of the bottle open and through its contents into the creature's eyes. I watched as it screamed and burst into flames just inches from my face.

The house was quiet.

"G…Grams…?" I whispered, but her glassy blank eyes still starred up at me. "Grams…?" I said again as tears started to fall down my cheeks and my trembling hands shook her shoulders…her lifeless body. "No…no…" I shook my head as I stood up and looked around the room. The table was overturned and a few lamps and picture frames lay broken on the ground. "Prue…Phoebe!" I yelled. There was no response. Shaking, I made my way to the phone and dialed 911. "H-Hello?" I said into the phone. "We've…we've been attacked…" I said shakily. After giving the lady on the other end my address, I slowly hung up and then made my way back into the living room. Grams was still lying there, her eyes open and her body stiff. Shakily, I made my way over to the couch and sat down on its edge. I didn't know what had just happened…it didn't seem real…what were those…things? My thoughts slowly returned to my missing sisters and my…dea-…Grams. I rocked myself gently back and forth as I stared at her and silently willed her to move. Nothing. Then, looking down at the pendant I had been given, I started to cry. Unclasping it, I pulled it up and put it around my neck.

I don't know how long I waited, but when the paramedics and the police arrived I was still rocking gently back and forth on the couch. I watched as they bent down over my grandmother, and seconds later reached forward to shut her eyes. They then covered her with a white sheet as the police called for more help and started their investigation. All of this time, I watched with disbelief and willed myself to wake up from my nightmare. I didn't wake up.

"Sweetie?" Startled, I looked up to see a woman officer standing in front of me. "Are you the one who called for help?" I mutely nodded to her and then turned again to stare at the white lump consisting of my Grandmother's…body…My eyes widened at this acknowledgement and I quickly looked down. "Lets get the girl out of here," I heard the woman say as a few other officers approached.

"We need to question her," another said. "She's the only witness. I already sent out a few officers to question the neighbors."

"Okay, okay," I heard the woman say as she kneeled down in front of me. "Honey…what's your name?" she asked, and I looked at her silently for a moment before answering.

"Piper…Piper Halliwell," I quietly whispered, and she nodded. "Why don't you come with me Piper?" she said, and I allowed her to take my hand and lead me out of the family room and into the conservatory. We walked past various cops taking finger prints and looking for evidence, a few firefighters who had shown up, and the paramedics. Then, as we sat down I heard an officer shout over to the paramedics.

"We're done here, take Ms. Halliwell in for examination." Startled, I looked up and then rushed into the other room.

"No!" I yelled, running over and throwing myself at my Grandmother. "NOOOOOOO! You can't take her!" I yelled, clinging to Grams with all of the strength that I had. Unfortunately, that wasn't very much. The female officer that had spoken to me before gently pulled me away from Grams and turned me around to face her.

"Piper, look at me," she whispered, and I did so through my tears as I clung with one of my hands to Grams'. "I know this isn't easy, but your Grandmother is…no longer with us. You know that, right?" I looked at her through my tears for a moment before nodding. "Let these people do their job so that we can catch those who did this." I stared at her for a moment before looking back at Grams as I cried. Very slowly, I let her hand slip from mine and the woman pulled me gently from the room again. "By the way, my name's Katie," she said as she sat me down on a chair and gave me a glass of water. I slowly took a sip before putting the glass down and wiping my eyes with the tissue she provided. "Piper, we need to know what happened. I know it's hard, but do you think you could tell us?" A few seconds later I nodded my head and Katie smiled gently at me.

In five minutes time a young officer with a tape recorder and a pad of paper sat down next to me. The officer who had ordered them to take away Grams was standing behind him, and Katie was sitting in front of me. I heard another officer ask about taking me to the station for questioning, but Katie mumbled something about me being more comfortable here. I didn't really bother to listen too carefully. My world was crashing down around me, and it was all I could do to just keep breathing.

"Piper?" I looked up at the sound of my name to see Katie staring at me. "Can you start at the beginning and tell us what happened?" I looked at her for a moment as panic swept through me and thoughts started racing through my head. What would my story sound like to them? Crazy…that's what it would sound like. "Piper?" Shaking my head slightly, I again focused on Katie and opened my mouth to speak.

"We came downstairs…"

"Who are 'we'," she then asked.

"Oh…My older sister Prue and my younger sister Phoebe. G…Grams was in the kitchen putting groceries away." Katie then nodded as another officer started writing. "We had just walked in when a group of things-…I mean, men…a group of men appeared…"

"How many? And, could you describe them for us?"

"Um…there were about 8 or 10…They were tall…with dark hair…and they had markings on their faces…they were all very ugly…"

"A gang?" I heard one of the officers whisper to the officer in charge.

"Do you remember anything else Piper?" Katie asked. "Anything else about their appearances? Anything more specific? Maybe you could draw the markings?" Frowning slightly, I shook my head 'no' as tears came to my eyes.

"I…I don't remember…It happened so fast…there was fire and light…and the…the men were trying to grab us…Prue…Prue threw herself at one because he had my ankle…and when I looked up, she was gone…Phoebe was gone too…and…and Grams was…she was…" I started crying as I thought of my Grandmother and Katie put her hand on my shoulder.

"It's ok sweetie, you're going to be okay," she whispered before standing up and dragging the other officers to the side. "I don't think she can tell us much more," I heard her whisper to them as I wiped my eyes. "It doesn't seem like she saw much…and we really should get her checked out." The next thing I knew Katie was taking me over to the paramedics. I sat as they looked me over and asked if I was hurt. I shook my head 'no' and waited as a man wrapped me in a blanket and set me on a chair. There was noise all around me, but I just pulled my knees up to my chin and closed my eyes. Nearby I could hear a young man speaking with Katie.

"Hey, Kate, I was on the phone with the station. The girl has no living relatives…except for her father…but he disappeared long ago. Abandoned all three before the death of their mother. Poor girl…she has no one left." I squinted my eyes open at this comment to see Katie talking with a younger officer. A fireman was also standing nearby. I stared at him, but quickly looked down when I saw him look over at me. What was I going to do? I had no one…Oh God, I wish Prue was here…or Phoebe…why had they been taken, and not me? Again I felt the tears coming as I brushed my long straight brown hair out of my face and looked up. A man was standing in front of me – it was the firefighter.

"Hey there," he said gently, bending down in front of me so that he was at eye level. "Piper…how would you like to come and stay with me and my family?" I starred at the man for a moment before Katie walked up.

"Piper, Mike here has offered to let you stay with him for a while, until everything is settled. The paperwork is going through right now. Would you like to stay with him, or is there someone else you want us to call? A neighbor or a friend?" I slowly shook my head and then looked at Mike.

"Yeah…thank you," I whispered, and smiled.

"Come on," Katie said, helping me up. "Let's get some of your stuff together." I lead her upstairs and into my room that I had shared with my little sister for as long as I could remember. The thought of Phoebe was almost more than I could stand, but I forced myself to think that the police would find her…Prue and Phoebe would be found. Katie broke me from my thoughts when she turned on the light, and I quickly pulled out a small bag and began shoving clothes into it. When I had finished packing I pulled out my backpack with my school books and threw my journal and some more books into it. After finishing with my packing Katie took me back downstairs and walked me over to Mike. "You're going to be just fine Piper," she said to me before patting her hand on my shoulder. I looked down at my feet as she walked over to the remaining officers. The house looked like a crime scene. There was fingerprint dust and yellow tape everywhere. Besides Katie, Mike, and two or three other policemen, no one else was left.

"What…what about my house?" I asked, looking up at Mike.

"Don't worry, the police will lock the door before they leave. You have a key, right?" I nodded as Mike grabbed my bag and headed for the door. "You'll be back," he assured me as I gave my home one last look before following him out the door. The fire engine had left almost as soon as it had gotten here, so Mike had a taxi waiting outside. It was only 9 o'clock, but it seemed much later. Sighing to myself, I quietly entered the taxi and shut the door as Mike gave the driver directions to the fire station. Once there, he led me over to his car and we were off. I tried not to think about what had just happened to me, but the realization that my life would never be the same was too much for me. I let my tears fall silently as I placed my forehead on the cool window of the car and closed my eyes. I guess I drifted off to sleep, because the next thing I knew the car had stopped and Mike was shaking me gently. I slowly lifted my head as he turned off the ignition and grabbed my bag. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my backpack and got out. A small and comfortable looking house stood in front of me. The outside lights shone brightly as we walked towards the front door and past a purple bike that lay in the front yard. I followed Mike into the house, through the front door, and into the kitchen. When we entered I saw a woman sitting at the table starring at a book. When she saw us she quickly stood up and came rushing over to give Mike a hug. Then, she leaned back and looked down at me.

"Hello Piper," she said softly, giving me a smile. "Mike called me earlier. I'm Jamie, his wife."

"Nice to meet you," I whispered softly. "Thank you for letting me stay here." She looked taken aback by my comment, but just smiled as she grabbed my bag from Mike and waved me into the hallway.

"Come on, let's let you get settled in," she told me as she led me up the stairs. Once at the top she entered the second room on the right and I followed her. It was a small guest room, but it was nice. The walls were blue with a yellow trim and a window faced the front of the house. There was also a small bed, a dresser, desk, small closet, and a night stand. Jamie put my bag down on the end of the bed as she reached over to turn on the lamp. "This will do quite nicely, don't you think?" she asked me gently, and I nodded. "Okay, well, the bathroom is across the hall and our daughter's room is right next door. If you need anything Piper, our room is down the right hall as you come up the stairs." I nodded again and looked at this woman through the long wisps of brown hair that had fallen into my face.

"Th-Thank you," I managed to say as I put down my backpack and walked over to the bed.

"Piper…" I looked over at this woman, who was doing everything she could to help me, and I saw her sadness. It was sadness and pity for me. "Piper, everything is going to be just fine. Alright?" she put her hands up onto my shoulders as she said this, and I nodded mutely again. After one last smile, she patted me on the shoulder and headed for the door. "Get some sleep," she then said as she closed the door and I was alone. Taking a deep breath, I unzipped my bag and pulled out my pajamas. After changing into them, I folded up my clothes and put them back into the bag, which I set on a chair in the corner. I kept the silver pendant around my neck and grasped it with my hand. Then, I reached over to turn off the light and climbed into bed. I didn't know what was going to happen to me, but I was afraid. Here I was, in a strange house with another family…I guess I was safe. I mean, the police must trust this guy, or they wouldn't have sent me home with him. But…what was going to keep those strange beings from coming after me again? Still, it's not like I had anywhere else to go. My father was invisible...since before Mom…and I had no family…not even any close friends I could stay with. Prue had been my closest friend…but now…Tears fell down my face for the millionth time that night, and I didn't have the energy to wipe them away. Grams was dead…just like Mom. Prue and Phoebe were gone…just like Dad. And I was left here…alone. After sobbing into the pillow for a long time, I finally drifted off into a restless sleep.

To Be Continued…


	2. Another P

Sisters Bound

Part 2 – Another P

By: Silverstar

Thanks to those who reviewed! It means a lot

Feeling the sun on my face, I realized that it was morning. Thank God. I had had the most horrible dream. After rubbing my eyes with my hands I stretched up my arms and then squinted my eyes open. Jolting up in surprise, I starred at the room around me…This was not my room…Oh God…It was true…it hadn't been a nightmare. Placing my hands over my face, I leaned down and shook my head. No…This couldn't be happening…it just couldn't…

"I heard you crying last night." Startled, I quickly looked up to see a young girl standing with her back against the wall next to the door. That had to be the little girl that Jamie had spoken of. She was skinny with wavy shoulder length dark brown hair, pale skin, and large brown eyes.

"Sorry," I mumbled as I brought my knees up to my chin and wrapped my arms around them.

"Who are you?" the little girl then asked as she took a few steps forward.

"My name's Piper," I replied as she climbed onto the bed and sat in front of me. "Piper Halliwell."

"That's a pretty name," the girl replied, and I was surprised that the comment made me smile.

"Thanks," I told her. "What's your name?"

"Me?" she said with a look of amusement, and I nodded. "I'm Paige. Paige Mathews." I smiled at this and laughed. "What?" she asked, looking almost hurt at the sound of my laughter.

"It's another P," I simply stated, and received a blank stare from my younger friend. "My name starts with a P, and so do my sisters' names: Phoebe and Prue."

"Oh," Paige replied, now smiling along with me as she continued to stare. But my smile didn't last as I thought of my sisters. "Where are your sisters?" Paige then asked me, and I looked down at her question.

"I don't know…" I whispered, but was spared having to explain anything to the girl by the entrance of her mother.

"Paige? Are you in here?" she said softly as she opened the door all the way to find us sitting on my bed. "Oh, Piper, I see you've met my daughter Paige," she stated with a smile, and I nodded. "Come on Paige, you have dance class in an hour," she said to her daughter, and I watched as she quickly ran out the door, waving as she did so. "I'm so sorry Piper, did she wake you?" Jamie asked, and I shook my head. "She's only eight, and wheels are always turning in that head. I never know what she's going to do next." I just smiled as Jamie continued to stand there. "So, I have to drive Paige to class, but if you come down in the next 45 minutes I can get you some breakfast."

"Thank you," I replied as she smiled at me and then shut the door. I felt exhausted…but it was already past 10, and sitting around in bed wasn't a way of showing my appreciation to Mike or Jamie. After taking a deep breath, I got out of bed, grabbed my bag, and headed for the bathroom. A hot shower made me feel a lot better, but even as I let the water wash over me, I could feel the tears threatening to pour from my eyes. I told myself that I had to be strong…Prue would want me to…Grams…Mom…I had to stay strong. After getting out of the shower I wiped my eyes with a towel I had brought from home and pulled on a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. The small silver pendant still hung around my neck. I looked down at it for a moment before shaking my head. Focusing on the moment was the only thing that was going to get me through this…thinking about the future or the past only made me feel depressed and alone.

Soon I had brushed my hair back into a pony tail, brushed my teeth, and packed up my things back into my bag. After placing my bag back in my room I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen. There I found Mike sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee and reading the paper. Jamie was rushing around putting some dishes away, and Paige was sitting at the table eating some cereal.

"Oh, Piper!" Jamie said with a smile as she saw me walk in. "What can I get you for breakfast? We're running a little late this morning, but I can make you anything you like. Eggs? Toast? Waffles?"

"Cereal is fine," I said softly as I sat down across from Paige and next to Mike.

"Sleep okay?" Mike asked, putting the paper down and looking at me with his gentle eyes.

"Oh…yeah, I slept fine," I said quickly back, wondering if he knew that I was lying. "Thank you so much for having me."

"It's our pleasure," Mike said back after a moment. He smiled gently at me again before looking back at his paper as Jamie brought a bowl of cheerios, a glass of milk, and a banana over.

"Thank you," I told her as she put it down. I could sense the whole family staring at me, even Paige, and I felt like there was nothing I could do except keep my head down, be polite, and eat the food that they had so graciously given me. As soon as I picked up my spoon and put some of the cereal into my mouth, Jamie rushed over to put some dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

"Come on Paige, we have to go," she said quickly as she picked up Paige's bowl and ushered her off to put on her shoes and her jacket. "Piper, Mike here has to go into work later, but I should be back before then. You're going to be alright?" I nodded to her as she smiled and then ran out the door with Paige. The front door slammed shut and the house went quiet. I stared back down at my cereal before slowly taking another bite. I couldn't look at him…It took all of my energy just to keep my mind off of the events of yesterday, but whenever I looked at Mike, they all came rushing back. It seemed as if he didn't know what to say to me either. I could see him looking at me over his newspaper, but he remained silent as I sat trying to eat the rest of my breakfast. I just wasn't very hungry.

"May I be excused?" I finally said, looking over at Mike. He looked surprised, but then nodded his head.

"Yeah, sure…Here, let me get your dishes-"

"Oh, no! I can get it," I said quickly, standing up and grabbing my bowl. I then hastily threw out the remainder of my cereal, put my dishes in the dishwasher, and headed for the door.

"Piper?" I turned at the sound of Mike's voice. "Would you like to talk?"

"No thank you," I replied softly, before looking down and leaving the room. I just couldn't take it! Running up the stairs, I shook my head as I replayed everything that had gone on in the past 24 hours. How could I talk to anyone about it? I didn't even believe what had happened myself. Angry and confused, I threw myself onto my bed and buried my head into the pillows. How was life going to be from now on?

When I finally opened my eyes I found that it was one o'clock. I had fallen asleep. Rubbing my eyes with my hands, I got up off of the bed and looked at myself in the dresser mirror. I saw a pathetic scared and lonely 12 year old…not the person that Prue would want to see. She had always been strong for Phoebe and for me. She always made sure that we had the support that a mother would give. Would she want to see me like this? No…she wouldn't. Taking a deep breath, I brushed my hair back out of my eyes and headed for the door. When I got downstairs I found Paige sitting in the family room watching TV…cartoons of some sort. Sighing, I headed into the kitchen to find Jamie making some sandwiches.

"Piper!" she said warmly as I entered. "I was just making sandwiches. What kind do you like? Turkey?"

"That's fine," I replied as I sat down at the table. A few minutes later a sandwich and a bottle of water was in front of me. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," she replied before going back over to the counter. "Paige! Lunch!" she then called, and I jumped in surprise as the girl ran quickly into the room and sat down across from me.

"Hi, Piper," she said, smiling at me as her mother set her lunch down in front of her.

"Hi…" I said back before looking down and taking a bite of my sandwich. Every time I looked at Paige she made me think of Phoebe…Phoebe was…_is_ only two years older than her, and still has some of that innocence. Well…she might not anymore…not after…I shook my head to clear my mind and then continued to eat. I knew Paige was staring at me as she devoured her lunch, but I couldn't look at her.

"Piper?" At the sound of Jamie's voice I looked up, my thoughts broken. "A social worker is going to come by the house this afternoon. I just wanted to let you know, so there aren't any surprises."

"Oh…ok," I said as the realization hit me…my life would change forever.

I guess Jamie could sense my mood, because a minute later I heard her say "Paige, why don't you take Piper into the family room. You guys can pick out a movie."

"Okay," Paige agreed, and I watched as she jumped out of her chair, her lunch finished, and ran into the other room.

"Don't worry honey, it will be fine," Jamie said to me as I got up and headed out of the kitchen.

"I guess…" I replied, not really convinced. When I stepped into the family room Paige had a pile of movies on the table and was sifting through them.

"Which one do you want to watch?" she asked me, popping her head up at the sound of me entering the room.

"I don't care," I replied, sitting down on the couch and watching as Paige put some Disney movie into the VCR and turned it on. I watched as she quickly became absorbed in the movie, but I couldn't get into it. A half hour later the doorbell rang and I walked over, a few feet behind Jamie, as she welcomed the social worker.

"Hello, I'm Susan Baine, and you must be Piper," she said to me as I nodded.

"Why don't we go into the kitchen," Jamie said, motioning towards Paige, who was looking over at us with curiosity. Susan nodded, and I followed both into the kitchen, dread and fear weighing down on me. Once there Jamie busied herself making tea as Susan sat down next to me and started pulling papers out of her briefcase. I waited in silence for a few moments before Susan began to speak.

"Piper," she finally said, looking over at me as she leaned forward on the table. "I am so sorry for your loss." She looked so genuinely sorry, but I couldn't stand the feeling that I was being pitied. I felt like I was going to be sick.

"Th…Thank you," I replied, casting my eyes down as she looked at me. It felt awful to know that everyone around you felt pity for you… I sat silently for a minute, these thoughts running though my head, before Susan spoke again.

"Okay Piper, I'm here today to just let you know what's going on. Firstly, the police are still looking for your sisters. They're not going to give up." I looked up when she said this, a small amount of hope in my eyes, but saw that hers had none.

"But…but its unlikely that they'll be found..." I said softly to her.

"No, no, that's not it at all," Susan replied softly. "It's just that there wasn't much evidence to go off of. The police are trying their best to find your sisters with what they have." I nodded at this. "I want to give you my number," she then said, handing me a card. "If you remember anything else about what happened, I want you to call me. Okay?" I then nodded again as I slipped the card into my pocket. "I also wanted to talk to you about your situation." As she said this I saw Jamie set down our tea and sit down next to me. I let her place her hand on mine and squeeze it in comfort, because that was all I had. I smiled slightly as she did so, and waited for Susan to continue speaking. "Piper…the truth is that you don't have any other relatives…With your grandmother gone, you no longer have a guardian. There's also the fact that your grandmother…well, in her will she left everything to you and your sisters." My eyes went wide at this statement…I hadn't even thought about Grams' will.

"Everything?" I asked, still in shock.

"Yes…and with your sisters missing…right now the law says that it all belongs to you. However…you're only twelve…"

"What about the house?" I interrupted. "That house has been in our family for generations-"

"The house is yours as well," she said softly. "But the fact is that you're not old enough to be living by yourself in that house. You still have school and have no source of income. Your grandmother had money, but you won't be able to live off of it for long, and I know that most of it was being saved for you and your sisters' college educations."

"So…what do I do?" I then asked, staring up at Susan with anxiety as the overwhelming news started to sink in.

"For the time being, Mike and Jamie have said that you can stay here. I'll be looking for a foster home where you can stay permanently." A home…I didn't want a new home. I wanted to go home! But…I knew I wouldn't be able to go back there, at least not to live. And…it probably wasn't safe. Not with those…monsters running around. I slowly nodded to Susan as I looked back down and sunk into my thoughts. I could hear Jamie walking Susan out, and when I looked up I saw Paige standing just outside the door frame looking in at me. I had no energy to run out or yell at her to go and leave me alone, so I again lowered my head and sunk back into my thoughts.

Later that night I didn't go downstairs for dinner. I knew it wasn't polite to do so, but once I had stumbled into bed earlier, I didn't have the strength or drive to get back out. The world I knew was gone, and I didn't want to participate in the world that had taken it's place. Instead, I sat staring at the yellow stone on the last thing my grandmother had given to me. I'd cherish it always.

To Be Continued…


	3. Another Home?

Sisters Bound

Part 3 – Another home?

By: Silverstar

Hello again. Sorry for the wait for those of you who are reading this. I was hoping for some more reviews, but I'll take what I can get and move on Thanks to those of you who reviewed, and here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

I had been staying with the Mathews' for one week, and there had been no word from Susan or the police. I was getting antsy and I wanted to go home. I missed it. It felt weird waking up each morning to a different house and a family that was not my own…

Sighing to myself, I got out of bed and walked around my small room. Mike and Jamie hadn't made me go to school this past week, but I knew that come Monday I would be going back, and I wasn't looking forward to it. When I finally headed downstairs I saw Paige sitting in the family room watching Saturday morning cartoons. I then thought back to last Saturday with a frown and walked into the kitchen. Jamie and Mike were sitting at the table talking, but hushed as I came in.

"Good morning Piper," Jamie greeted, looking up as I entered. "You're up early today," she then said, smiling as I walked over to the refrigerator to pour myself some orange juice.

"Yeah…I haven't slept well lately…" I answered, looking over at the clock to see that it was 8 in the morning. I hadn't realized.

"Piper, what do you say to taking a trip over to your house today? So you can get some more of your things," Mike then proposed, looking at me over his shoulder. Surprised, I starred at him for a few moments before I found myself nodding my head.

"Yes…yeah, I'd like that," I finally said.

"Good. We'll head over after we drop Paige off at dance," he replied. Smiling slightly, I put my orange juice down on the counter and headed back up to my room. I was going home! I hadn't felt this happy since…Tearing myself away from those sort of thoughts, I headed for the shower to get ready. I guess, somewhere inside, I thought that once I was home, things would go back to normal. My family would be waiting for me there.

The car was silent as we drove away from Paige's dance school and headed towards Prescott Street. I clamped my hands together to keep them from shaking and stared out the window as anxiety built up inside of me. How long was it going to take to get there? It felt like we'd been in the car forever! Yet…we kept driving…and driving…and as soon as I thought I was going to explode with anticipation and impatience, I saw Mike turn the car onto a familiar street – Prescott Street. As we pulled up and into my driveway, I let out a sigh, not realizing until then that I'd been holding my breath since we entered the neighborhood. Trying to steady my shaking hands, I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out of the car. Mike and Jamie followed me up to the front door and inside as I pulled out my key and unlocked my home. It was just as I remembered it. The sun filtered in through the old antique glass windows and covered the family room as well as the main hallway. I walked through the room…the place where I'd last seen my family, and looked for signs of them…There were none. Disappointed, I then walked into the kitchen and found that a pot of uneaten soup still sat on the stove. As I went to lift it down and throw it out, Jamie stopped me.

"Piper, we need to talk," she said softly, and I looked up at both of them. Sighing softly, I sat down at the kitchen table I had sat at all my life and the Mathews' sat across from me.

"Piper," Mike began, "We know that Susan is trying to find a foster home for you…but we've been thinking…"

"We'd like you to stay with us," Jamie continued. I starred at these two people in shock as thoughts of new homes and a new life swept through my head. How…how could they bring me back here to my home, and then ask me to move in with them…permanently? How…? "Before you say anything," Jamie then continued, "I want to tell you that we've thought this through. Did you know that Paige was adopted?" I slowly shook my head. "We have never been able to have children…but have always wanted them. We believe that there is a reason for everything, and that God put you in our lives for a reason. We really would like to have you come and stay with us."

"Wha…What about my sisters?" I asked, tears coming to my eyes. "The police…the police will find them. They're going to be found!" I said, my voice rising in level as I forced the tears back. "Are you willing to have them as well?" I couldn't believe this was happening. It was like they didn't exist…I believed that Prue and Phoebe would come back to me. It was the only thought that had gotten me through the past week. But now…now the Mathews' were asking me to move in with them…it was like I'd be leaving my sisters and my family behind. I couldn't do that!

"Piper," Jamie said gently, reaching out to put her hand on my arm. I pulled away.

"My sisters are coming back!" I screamed. "I still have a family!" Shoving myself up from the table, I ran out of the kitchen and up the stairs, heading for my room. As I entered I ran forward and threw myself down on my bed by habit. As I lay there, crying into my pillow, I felt slight comfort from just being in my room. Then, I looked over at Phoebe's bed, and that comfort was gone. It wasn't the same in this house without my sisters. Wiping my eyes, I pulled my knees up to my chin and wrapped my arms around them. Without my sisters here, I knew I'd never be able to stay in this house. But…they would come back! They would…

"Piper?" I heard Jamie whisper from the other side of the door. "Can we come in?" I didn't answer her, but in a few seconds she entered with Mike behind her. "Hey honey," she said softly as they walked over towards me. Jamie slowly sat on the edge of my bed as Mike stood behind her. "We're sorry we made you upset." I looked over at her for a minute before laying my head on my knees and letting a few tears fall.

"I'm sorry…" I finally whispered. "It's not your fault."

"Sweetie, you have nothing to feel sorry about. You're sad, upset, and angry. That's natural. We just thought that you might like to come and stay with us. And…with your sisters…we'll deal with it when it happens. This is a lot of change for us too, but we're willing to make an effort." I looked over at her at this comment and noticed how carefully worded the statement was. The fact was that they didn't believe my sisters were coming back…but if they did…I wouldn't be kept from them. Maybe they'd move in too…or maybe we'd be placed with another foster family.

"What about the house?" I then asked, wiping the tears from my face.

"The house is still yours," Mike then said. "I've spoken with social services. Susan assured me that no one will touch it. You won't have to worry about paying any taxes or such until you turn 18. Any other expenses will be covered by insurance money"

"And you can come back here to visit any time you want," Jamie added in. "We wouldn't think of keeping you from it." I looked up at both of these people…they were offering me a home out of the kindness of their hearts…could I accept? I glanced around my bedroom, my eyes wandering from my shelves of books to Phoebe's desk, piled high with the new make-up her friend had given her, and then to Prue's purse which I had borrowed the week before. Yes, I missed this place, but I knew I couldn't stay here. Even if I were able to legally live here…I wouldn't be able to face the memories. At least, not for a while.

"Thank you," I finally whispered, looking over at…my new foster parents. Then, with a slight smile, I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around Jamie as I let some more tears fall. "Thank you."

"Oh, you are so welcome," she whispered back as she wrapped her arms around me and held me in a hug. "Now, why don't we pack some more of your things, just to tide you over. We'll come back for the rest later." I nodded, and then wiped my tears as Jamie helped me off my bed and Mike went to get a few boxes.

We returned to the house a half hour later and Mike carried my boxes of clothing, bathroom supplies, and books up to my room. I still couldn't believe that this was going to be my new home…It was a little overwhelming. Later that night, as I was unpacking up in my room, I thought back on the night that everything had changed. What were those things that had attacked? Their faces still haunted my dreams, and every morning I still didn't understand what they were. All I knew was that they scared me. I didn't understand where the fire had come from or how Grams had fought them off, but I wanted to find out. Maybe if I found out, then I could get my sisters back. But…I didn't know where to start. I guess I'd have to start at the manor, but…I couldn't go back there with the Mathews'. I'd have to go alone. Would that be dangerous? What if _they_ came after me again? Sighing, I pulled a small bear out of the last box and looked at it. My mover had given this to me on my third birthday…that was one of the memories of her that still remained in my head. Prue had been so jealous…and Phoebe…well, she was just a baby. I smiled at the memory as I hugged the bear close. I had to go back, no matter what.

"That's a nice bear." Looking over to my left, I saw Paige sanding at the door. That's right, I had left it open.

"Thanks," I replied. "My mother gave it to me." Paige smiled when I said this and then walked in and sat down on my bed. I followed suit.

"Mom says that you'll be staying with us from now on," she then whispered. "She says your family is gone…I'm sorry you lost them…" I forced myself not to cry as I sat there starring at this little girl. She somehow reminded me so much of Phoebe…

"Thanks…but…my sisters…I'll find them," I said back.

"Well…until you do…can I be your sister?" Paige asked, and I smiled.

"I'd like that," I answered, and her smile made me smile.

"Paige!" I heard Jamie yell, and I looked down at my new 'sister.'

"Oh yeah! I was supposed to tell you that we're eating now. Come on." I watched Paige leave the room and I sighed. This was the start of a new life. Putting down my bear, I walked towards the door and downstairs towards the people that I would soon call my family.

School on Monday was the hardest thing I'd ever done in my life. As Jamie dropped me off I pleaded with her to let me stay home…but she insisted that my education was important, or something like that. How important could 8th grade really be? I mean, come on!

"Please Jamie," I begged. "Please don't make me go…"

"Piper, you're going to have to go back eventually. Don't you want to get back into a routine?" Sighing, I slung my book-bag over my shoulder and got out of the car. As I walked through the halls of my school I found people left and right staring after me. No one spoke to me…but I knew they were looking at me with pity. The death of a woman in a good neighborhood and the kidnapping of two children made the news. They all knew what had happened to me. The few girls that I was friendly with in school gave me hugs and told me that they had been trying to get in touch with me…they were so sorry and asked if they could do anything. I just shook my head and asked if we could not talk about it. I knew they probably wouldn't be willing to do much for me anyways…its not like they ever did before, but it did make me feel a little better knowing that a few people at least pretended to care. As the bell rang I followed them off to class, my head down and my mind in a state of chaos.

When school finally let out I felt exhausted. I wanted to go home…and that was where I was going to go! Shoving aside my shyness, I walked up to a girl that I knew lived in my neighborhood and asked for a ride. After staring in shock at me for a moment, she quickly nodded and let me slide into her car after her. Her mother was very polite, giving me her condolences and such, and I just nodded and thanked her, mostly keeping quiet. As we pulled up to my house I thanked them again and jumped out quickly, wanting to get out of the uncomfortable situation. Here I was, standing in front of my home. Taking a deep breath, I walked up to the front door and let myself in. All was quiet.

"Prue! Phoebe!" I called. There was no answer. Why did I still think that I would find them here? Turning around, I slowly shut the front door behind me and then wandered into the kitchen. The soup was still on the stove. Sighing, I poured it down the drain and then cleaned the pot before putting it away. The kitchen always made me think of Grams. At the thought of my grandmother, I remembered one of the reasons I wanted to come here alone. I wanted to find out what those things were that attacked us…and how Grams had defended us. Deciding to start where the event had occurred, I walked back through the front hallway and into the family room. Unfortunately, the police had gone over every spec of it – there was nothing to find. But…I couldn't give up…Prue wouldn't want me to. Taking a deep breath, I gathered myself together and climbed the stairs up to the second floor. I then walked slowly and quietly down the hallway and into Grams' room. It smelled so much like her…Climbing up onto her bed, I buried my face into her pillow and breathed in.

"Grams…" Just being near her smell calmed me, and my lack of sleep came rushing back to me. Moments later, I felt my eyelids close, and I was asleep.

"Piper! Thank God!" I awoke to these words only 45 minutes later, and I fought consciousness as I felt someone sit down next to me and shake me gently. I liked it here…

"No…I want to be with Grams," I mumbled, turning over to my other side and shoving my face even further into the pillow.

"Piper, honey," the woman said again, and in my more wakeful state, I recognized that it was Jamie's voice. "You really worried me! You just can't take off from school like that." Sighing, I lifted my head, leaned up on my arm, and turned to look at her. She seemed relieved to find me here.

"I'm…I'm sorry," I whispered, and then collapsed back down onto the bed. "But…I…" I couldn't finish, only because I had so many thoughts and so many emotions built up inside of me. I just looked into Jamie's eyes, and then closed mine.

"Piper, Piper! Can I see your room?" The sudden commotion got me to open my eyes again, and I looked over at the doorway to see Paige.

"She'll show you in a minute sweetie," Jamie told her, and then she turned to me. "If you want to come here that's fine, but you have to let me know somehow, alright?" I slowly nodded and then tore myself off of Grams' bed as Paige pulled at my hand.

"Your house is so big!" she told me as I took her down the hall to my room. Yeah…it was big…Big and empty. That thought made me frown as Jamie ushered us downstairs, out to the car, and back to my new home.

To Be Continued…


	4. A Witch!

Sisters Bound

Part 4 – A Witch!

By: Silverstar

Enjoy!

Another week went by, and my sisters still hadn't been found. The police had little hope of finding them, at least alive anyways, and I was beginning to loose faith as well. Not wanting to wait any longer, I told Mike that I was ready, and we had the funeral for Grams. Grams' friends from work and from Church showed up, along with a crazy lady who said she was my Aunt. I wasn't surprised not to find my father or any of my friends from school. But, the Mathews' did accompany me, and I was glad for at least a little support. After the procession most of the guests came over to see me and give me their condolences. I noticed many older ladies…most of whom shook their heads as they left, mumbling about the unfairness of the world. As the crowd thinned out I found myself next to Grams' coffin, and I looked down at it with grief.

"Grams…I guess this is...well…goodbye. Please…watch over me from heaven. I think I'll need it…" Taking a deep breath, I slowly dropped to my knees and leaned my forehead onto the cold wood of her coffin. "I'll miss you," I then whispered as I laid my arms over the top of the casket and let a few tears fall. As my mind drifted into sorrow, I felt something warm on my face. Opening my eyes, I blinked a few times as I stared straight at a glowing symbol in the wood. Slowly, I lowered my hand down and used my finger to trace the carving. It was a circle with three interlocking shapes. That…that hadn't been there before. I traced the symbol again a few times before the glow and warmth came again, and it disappeared. "Grams…" I whispered, leaning back a little. I heard and saw nothing, but I kept staring at that spot on the casket as I fiddled with the silver pendant hanging from my neck. I hadn't imagined it…it was real. "Thank you Grams…I don't know what it means…but thank you," I then whispered again as I kneeled before her. Finally, wiping away my tears, I got to my feet. It was hard, but I forced myself to take one last look and then turn from my grandmother's coffin. It seemed like a long time before I finished walking back over to where the Matthews' stood. Jamie put her arm around my shoulder, and I let her lean my head onto her shoulder as Mike went to get the car. It was all so unreal…I stared out the car window as we left, my eyes not leaving Grams' coffin until we were out of sight.

Every time I closed my eyes that night, I pictured the strange, yet comforting symbol in my head. I knew I had to figure out what it was…but how? Something told me that the secret was lying somewhere in my house, and I knew that Grams wanted me to find it. I laid awake that night, staring up at my ceiling in the darkness of my room, and thought about home. I thought about Prue and Phoebe, and I thought about Grams and Mom. Were they all looking down at me from heaven? Was that a happy thought or a sad one? I didn't know. With a foreign symbol burning in my mind, I eventually drifted off to sleep.

Shadows were pulling at me from all sides and I breathed heavily as I ran as fast as I could, always trying to reach the burning symbol ahead. Something was there…I had to get there…Something caught my ankle, and I screamed as I fell to the ground and the shadows surrounded me and turned into hideous monsters…those that had taken my sisters…those that had taken my grandmother from me. "No…" I whispered, terrified as they reached for me, and a golden symbol burned brightly in the distance…

My eyes jolted open as I felt someone's arms around me, and I sprang up into a sitting position. Breathing heavily, I looked down to see Paige's arms around me, hugging me tightly.

"P…Paige?" I asked, still trying to get myself together.

"You…you were crying…" she whispered, and I noticed my wet cheeks for the first time.

"Oh…" was all I could think to say as I stared down at my new sister. She looked scared. "Paige…it was just a dream," I explained, putting my hands on her shoulders and causing her to look up. "I'm…I'm ok now," I said, not all too reassuringly. "Thank you for waking me up."

"Really?" she finally said. "You're ok?" I nodded back down at her as a smile slowly spread across her face. "Good." I watched as she finally let go of me and slid down from my bed. "You were sad yesterday…"

"Yeah…" I said back, looking over at my dresser at a framed picture of Grams, Prue, Phoebe, and myself all at the park this past summer.

"Today is a new day. You have chance to be happy." I smiled sadly over at Paige as she nodded her head to emphasize her point and then slipped out the door. Shaking my head, I closed my eyes to find the symbol still within my mind. I had to go home. Getting up, I quickly made my bed, brushed my hair, and threw on some jeans and a long tee-shirt. I then grabbed my bag and a jacket and headed downstairs. Mike had gone to work today, so when I walked into the kitchen Jamie was the only one to greet me. I guess she saw my puffy eyes, red from tears and from lack of sleep, because she immediately led me over to the table and poured me some cereal.

"Here honey, eat something and you'll feel better," she said softly, and I slowly picked up my spoon and started playing with the cereal as she rushed to get me some milk.

"Jamie…?" I started, and watched as she quickly turned towards me. "Can I go over to the house today? Please?" I saw concern flash in her eyes and knew what she was thinking. Should I be exposed to all those memories so quickly after Grams' funeral? But I guess my puffy and pleading eyes overpowered those thoughts.

"Sure Piper, I can drop you off after Paige this morning at dance class. Are you sure you want to stay there by yourself?" I nodded at this and Jamie sighed. "Alright, if that's what you want." A minute later Jamie left to go check on Paige, and I dumped my uneaten cereal in the trash. When Jamie and Paige came downstairs to leave, I was ready with my jacket on and my bag slung over my shoulder.

I stood before my empty home and felt despair. But…I also felt relief. It was nice to know that no matter how bad things were, I'd have this place. I slowly reached into my bag to find my key and then let myself in. Jamie had said that she'd be back in a few hours after she picked up Paige, so I'd have all morning to myself. When I first walked into the house, relief and sadness swept over me. But I forced myself to remember why I had wanted to come. I had to find out what those things were that had taken my family from me, and I had the feeling that it was somehow connected to my dream. There had been a strange, yet familiar symbol…the symbol that I had seen on Grams' casket. And then, I remembered. It was just like the one…on the spirit board. My stomach did a summersault as I looked over towards the door to the basement. My mother had given us that board…Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to walk over to the basement door and down the stairs. Five minutes later I returned with the old wooden board. It hadn't taken me long to find it at all. Actually, it was sitting basically in plain sight, almost as if it wanted to be found. Once back upstairs I set the heavy thing on the kitchen table and examined it. There, right in the center, was the symbol from my dream. But…what did it mean? I hadn't looked at this in years…not since Prue was younger and believed in this sort of thing. Why would this come into my dreams now? There was no explanation. And as I sat there, staring at the wooden board from my past, I saw the pointer start to move. I stared in shock and fear as it moved slightly at first, and then started darting around the board.

"G…Grams…?" I asked with uncertainly, holding my breath as I watched the pointer settle on letter after letter. A…T…T…I…C… "Attic?" I whispered as the pointer stopped suddenly and remained still. "But…the attic is closed off…Grams?" I looked around me for some sign of my grandmother, but saw none. I was alone and the house was quiet. Tears came to my eyes, out of both fear and frustration, but I knew that my grandmother and my sisters wouldn't want me to give up. Gathering my courage, I stood up and walked slowly towards the attic stairs. The long and dark stairwell seemed empty and unwelcoming to me, but I knew that I had to try. Step by step, I climbed to the top and stood before the closed attic door. Then, taking a deep breath, I slowly reached out my unsteady hand and laid it on the doorknob.

"I guess it's now or never…" I whispered as I quickly turned to knob and shoved forward. It was locked. The door didn't budge. Laughing nervously to myself, I was about to turn around when the door squeaked loudly as it suddenly swung open. I looked in cautiously, surprised to see a room very unlike an old dusty attic that hadn't been visited in years. Instead, I found a room full of old heirlooms, comfortably furnished with chairs, tables, and even electric lamps. This sight lowered my fear somewhat, and as I walked inside, I realized that this room had been visited quite often over the years.

"Grams had many secrets," I whispered as I walked over to the large old glass-stained windows that allowed me to look out to the front of the house. "I wonder how many times Grams did this…watching us when we were running around the neighborhood…and why she kept this room a secret from us…?" Turning slowly, I again surveyed the room and realized that the smell in the air was a mix of dust and my grandmother's perfume. My fear of the attic being haunted subsided as soon as I realized Grams was up here often, and I decided to explore. I easily recognized the family sewing machine, a well as boxes and boxes of old toys that I had thought were thrown away years ago. As I was looking at some old books on a table, I heard a noise. I looked behind me, and then heard it again. It was coming from a large trunk sitting to the side of the room. Slowly putting the books down, I walked hesitantly over towards the old worn trunk and sat before it. "Grams…?" I asked, trying to convince myself that it was her sending me signs. "You…you want me to look in here…?" The latch was open, so, closing my eyes, I pulled up on the lid. When nothing happened, I slowly opened my eyes and looked down to see an old dark green book. I gasped as I saw that it had the symbol from my dream on it. Reaching down, I pulled the heavy book out of the trunk and noticed that the trunk contained other things, such as white candles, a white cloth, some bowls, and a few bags of herbs. My eyes didn't drift long however, because my mind was focused on the book. I heaved it over to an old arm chair and sat down with it in my lap. As I stared at it, I fiddled with Grams' pendant around my neck. Should I look in it? It…it seemed harmless…mentally kicking myself for being afraid of a book, when I loved reading and always had, I let go of the pendant and reached forward to open what was called "The Book of Shadows."

"The Power of Three…?" I said as I read the first page and looked at some drawings of women fighting…demons? It didn't make any sense…As I read about the Warren Line and about the Power of Three I put two and two together. The things that had attacked us…the glass vials with the colorful liquid in them…Grams being able to hold her own against those evil monsters…fear crept up inside of me and a shiver went down my spine. My family…we were witches. I continued to stare in shock at the Book as my hands started shaking in fear and confusion. They…they would be back for me…Tears in my eyes, I dropped the book onto the ground as I stood up and ran out of the attic and down the stairs. When I reached the family room I threw myself onto the couch and caught my breath. Where would I go from here? I had no one…Feeling something touch my leg, I jumped up and looked down to see a light grayish white cat. Bending down, I scratched her behind the ears as I leaned in to see her collar. I gulped when I saw the same symbol…the Book had called it a triquettra. There was nothing else there…no phone number or address…and the cat seemed tame enough. I jumped in surprise when she jumped up onto my lap and started purring.

"Are you trying to tell me something?" I asked, as she continued to purr and then settled in my lap. The more I stared at the little cat, the more I thought that maybe Grams had sent her to me as well. Maybe it was her way of telling me that everything would be okay…that this new information…my destiny…was something that I could live with and was something that I shouldn't be afraid of…but I was. I was afraid. Petting the cat calmed my nerves somewhat though. About ten minutes later I heard a knock on the door, and picking the cat up into my arms, I walked over and opened it. Jamie was standing there, a surprised look on her face when she saw the cat.

"Piper! You didn't tell me you had a cat!" she exclaimed, and looked down at the soft animal in my arms as Paige came running up behind her mother, excitement in her eyes. "I had no idea."

"Me neither…" I finally answered. "I found her in the house…she must've slipped in through a window or something…" When I looked up at Jamie, there was a small smile on her face. I could tell that she knew I wanted to keep the cat, and when I glanced down at Paige I could see her crossing her fingers at her sides. "Paige, you want to hold her?" I asked, hoping that if Paige were attached to her as well, then Jamie might say yes. I couldn't give her up…Grams had sent her to me. I handed the cat over to Paige as she held out her arms, and smiled as Paige held her close and she started to purr. I heard Jamie sigh as she continued to look at the cat, and knew that she had relented.

"Okay, okay!" she finally said, and I smiled widely as Paige shouted with glee. "But, we're putting an ad in the newspaper for a few weeks. If someone lost her, then I want to return her to them." I nodded as I took the cat back from Paige, shut the front door, and walked with Jamie back to the car. I knew no one would claim her…she was mine.

To Be Continued…


	5. A Little Sister

Sisters Bound

Part 5 – A Little Sister

By: Silverstar

Ok…no one has reviewed yet…but I guess that's ok! I enjoyed writing this story, so I'm posting the next chapter. Please enjoy!

Over the next few weeks I didn't go back to my house. Just thinking about what I had found out in the attic made me dizzy…and it also made me think of Grams…and therefore of Prue and Phoebe. The police had basically given up on their search, and I was starting to mourn their loss. But, Kit kept me company. That's what Paige had named her, and I thought it was suitable, so I had agreed to it. No one had answered the newspaper ad, just as I had expected, and she hardly ever left my side. I liked it like that. Jamie just laughed at the little cat, and Mike rolled his eyes at all of us. It was almost like the little fuzz ball was bringing the family closer together, me included.

"Hey Piper!" Jamie called as she was ushering us out of the house for school. I kissed Kit goodbye, swung my backpack over my shoulder, and headed downstairs.

"Yeah?" I asked as I grabbed a granola bar for the ride and shoved my paper-bag lunch into my bag with my school books.

"I have some errands to run today. Will you be okay to watch Paige after school?"

"Yeah…that's fine," I answered as I grabbed my jacket, surprised at the request. Jamie and Mike hardly ever left me alone in the house, and never alone with Paige. But, then again, Grams always had Prue and me watch over Phoebe to make sure she was okay when we were all alone. Sadness filled my features as I thought of my little sister, but I quickly turned from Jamie to pull my bag over my shoulders so she couldn't see it. However, glancing over as Paige bounded down the stairs ready for school, I had to smile. There was such an energy about her, that I couldn't help it. Shaking my head, I followed her and Jamie out the door.

I was upstairs in my room after school crying when Jamie called up to me that she was leaving. Today hadn't been a good day. Mostly, everyone at school had been keeping their distance. Even Phoebe's friends two grades below me didn't speak to me…and for the most part I was okay with it. I spent lunch time in the library and any other free time reading. But today in the bathroom I overheard some girls talking about me.

"…And have you seen that ugly loser moping around school…Piper Halliwell?" I heard a popular girl named Whitney say from my place in the last bathroom stall. My eyes opened wide as I continued to listen. "It's a shame that gang didn't take her instead of her sisters. That could've improved our school!" Whitney and her friends laughed as I thought of my sisters and tears formed in my eyes. Covering my eyes with my hands, I pushed open the stall and ran for the door. I could hear all four girls laughing as I ran down the hall towards the bathroom on the far end of the school.

I had spent last period in the other girls bathroom crying in the stall, and then making myself look decent for Jamie when she picked me up. I didn't want to give her any more trouble or have her worry about me any more than she already was. As soon as we had gotten home I headed for my room, and the comfort of Kit. She sat quietly beside me as I cried into my pillow, holding Gram's necklace to my chest. I wore it always, only to give me strength.

"Piper! I'm leaving!" Jamie then called, and I knew I had to go downstairs. Getting up, I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and looked at myself in the mirror. After brushing my hair out of my face, I poked my head out the door. Jamie had come half way up the stairs, but stopped when she saw me. "Oh, good, you heard me," she smiled. My cell number, Mike's cell, and his work number are on the notepad next to the phone. Just make sure Paige gets her homework done before I get back. I'll bring dinner." I nodded as she started heading back down the stairs. "I'll be back in a few hours," she then called back up as Paige ran to her from the kitchen to give her a hug. "Now you mind Piper," she told my new sister as she kissed her on the forehead.

"I will," Paige said, heading back for the kitchen to do homework as Jamie grabbed her purse and keys off the hallway table and headed out.

"If you need anything, call!" were her final words before the door shut. Sighing to myself, I trudged back into my room and threw myself onto the bed. Moments later, I was crying again. I don't know how long I laid there, but the next thing I knew, I felt a hand lay gently on my back. Sniffling, I slowly turned to see Paige sitting next to me on my bed with a worried expression on her face. But, she didn't say anything. She just looked at me. My eyes widened as she suddenly leaned in and wrapped her arms around me. I stiffened at first, but slowly relaxed as Paige hung on tighter, and I gradually wrapped my arms around her as well and cried into her shoulder. I knew I shouldn't be putting an eight year old through this…but…I had no one else even remotely my own age to relate to. And she reminded me so much of Phoebe…Paige let me cry, acting older than her years, and I hung to her tightly, loving her so much just for being there for me. I hated being alone. Even though I'd never really had any friends my own age at school…at home I had always had my sisters. It was nice to have that feeling back. When my tears finally subsided, I slowly let go of Paige and leaned back. She did as well, but kept her hands on my shoulders. I smiled faintly at her as I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and sniffled.

"Thanks," I finally said, and she smiled at me.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she then asked, and my mouth hung open with shock. How could she be this mature?

"Oh…just some girls at school…they were saying really mean things about me…and they mentioned Prue and Phoebe…I miss them…" I whispered, my voice fading as I pictured their faces in my head…afraid and lost...just like the last time I saw them…and how I saw them in my dreams regularly. Paige then reached down and grabbed my hand in hers.

"Until they come back…I'm your sister," she said, smiling up at me. More tears coming to my eyes, I just smiled, and then leaned over to wrap my arms around her again.

"Thank you," I whispered as she hugged me back. "How did you get so good at knowing the right thing to say?" I then asked, as I leaned back and Paige picked Kit up from the other side of my bed, placed her in her lap, and started to stroke her.

"I…I don't know," Paige then said. "There's just…something inside of me. Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to help people…and…it seems to come easily to me." I smiled at this and then reached forward to ruffle her hair.

"Well, if you keep this up, you'll be taking on the role as big sister." Paige laughed at this and then flopped down on the bed, sending Kit out of her lap and into mine.

"Naaw…I've always wanted a sister…and now that I have one…I think I like being the youngest." I laughed at this and then leaned back into my pillows.

"I'm…I'm not use to being the oldest…I've always been the middle child…so I hope I do alright." Paige just smiled at this.

"Thanks for treating me like an equal," she finally said. "Even though you're four years older…"

"You're not that much younger…I mean, you're only two years younger than Phoebe…" Thinking of my sister made me fall into silence, and Paige kept it that way. We sat there in a comfortable silence until I heard the front door open and then close.

"Girls!" I heard Jamie yell, and I looked at the clock. It was already 6!

"Up here!" Paige yelled, and I looked at her. "Don't worry, I finished all my homework. Not that I had a lot…I know how Mom gets." I smiled at this comment and then set Kit down beside me. "You want to go downstairs?" Paige then asked, and after a moment, I shook my head. I liked the atmosphere we had created, and I didn't want it to end. So, Paige crawled up next to me from her position at the bottom of the bed and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. Ten minutes passed before I heard Mike get home, and soon after that Jamie was knocking on the door.

"Girls…Dinner," she said softy, opening the door to find us there - My arm around her shoulder, hers around mine, and our free hands petting Kit. I looked over to see her smiling at us, and then looked down to see Paige looking up at me.

"We'll be down," I finally said before Jamie left and Paige sat up and got to her feet. I followed suit, and seconds later we were downstairs for dinner.

It was almost a month later before I thought about going back home. I knew I had found the Book for a reason…Grams had always told me that "everything happens for a reason" and I always believed her…at least until my world changed. Still…my sisters and those…demons…visited my dreams regularly, and I somehow couldn't accept that they were gone forever. When I finally asked Jamie if I could go back home the next Saturday, she didn't seem surprised.

"I was wondering when you were going to ask," she said to me over breakfast as Paige watched silently. "Mike can drive you over this Saturday." I nodded as I continued to eat my cheerios and thought about Mike. I hadn't really talked to him much during my stay here…at least not individually. I was always with Jamie or Paige when I spoke to him or was around him. He worked strange hours at the firehouse, so when he was home the whole family was always with him.

"Piper…" My thoughts broken, I looked up to see Paige waving her hand in front of my face. "Come on, we're going to be late." I looked over to see that Jamie was already out of the kitchen, and I quickly dumped out the rest of my cereal before grabbing my bag and following Paige to the car. Sometimes I felt like she was the big sister…School had been rough the past month. I still had no friends…probably because people didn't know how to act around me. I wasn't much of a talker, and got nervous easily. It also didn't help that the popular crowd had taken to disliking me. I knew that next year in high school it was going to be rough. I had always known that Prue, my very popular big sister, would be there to help me out. But now…I dreaded going to high school. However, I still had more than half of eighth grade to get through, and I didn't know if I'd even make it through that.

That Saturday, after Jamie left with Paige, Mike called upstairs to me. "Ready Piper!" I took a deep breath as I grabbed my small bag and my jacket, and headed downstairs. The start of the ride was very quiet, but I finally asked the question I had wanted to ask for months.

"Mike…" I saw him glance over at me out of the corner of his eyes as he continued driving, and I took in a deep breath before I continued. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure Piper, anything," he replied, and I saw concern and anxiety in his eyes.

"What…what made you take notice of me…that night at the manor? Why did you take me home? You don't do that often, do you?" Mike looked shocked at this question, but he continued driving, and a few seconds later, he answered.

"At first…I saw a little of Paige in you," he said softly. "I've never gotten involved in cases like yours before…but there was something driving me to help you. Maybe it was something my daughter had said to me that afternoon…She told me to be careful and to be sure to help in every way I could that night. She…she sometimes speaks beyond her years…and I've always taken her seriously…or as seriously as I can. So…when I saw you…I knew what she meant." The car was silent for the next few minutes as I processed this.

"Thank you," I finally said as we pulled up to my house and he stopped the car. "It has meant the world to me." Mike smiled at this, and as he put the car in park, I reached over and gave him a hug.

"I'll pick you up at 3?" he finally said as I pulled back and reached to let myself out of the car. I nodded, mentally noting that I had a little over three hours to myself, and then headed for the house. Once inside I slumped down into the couch and looked around. It was getting dusty in here. But, I wasn't here to clean. I was here to read. Gathering my courage, I headed upstairs and climbed up the attic staircase. The Book was where I had left it, and thinking that I needed familiar scenery, I picked it up and headed back downstairs. After making myself some tea, I settled myself on the couch and began to flip through the ancient heirloom.

To Be Continued…


	6. A Day in March

Sisters Bound

Part 6 – A Day in March

By: Silverstar

Sorry its been so long! I blame my hectic college schedule…

Please enjoy!

Over the next few months I got closer and closer to Paige, as well as to Mike and Jamie. It was almost like they had become my second family. Christmas came and went, and while that day hurt me a lot, my new family did everything they could to keep me in the holiday spirits – especially Paige. I never forgot my sisters though, and I visited the manor weekly in order to read through the Book of Shadows and gather as much information as possible. I still couldn't bring myself to visit Grams' grave, but I figured that I felt her spirit so much in the house that there was no point in going around the graveyard anyway. It would just depress me even further. It was one Sunday in March when I flipped a page of the Book, and saw myself staring at the same demons who had taken my sisters. It had been almost six months since they were taken from me, and I had long ago given up hope that I would ever see them again, dead or alive. When I came across the page, I stared horrorstruck at the images…I knew them very well, for they still plagued my dreams.

"Pyronium demons…" I said to myself, scanning the page quickly. "Powerful demons that work in groups in order to climb the demonic ladder…will do anything to gain favor with the…Source?" I looked at the entry, puzzled, because I had no idea who the source was. And what would these demons want with us? As far as I knew, Prue, Phoebe, and I had no powers…we were just in a family of witches. Pushing back my tears, I continued to read. "These demons work for themselves and do what they can to gain power. They create fire in their hands…and hurl it at their enemies, incinerating them on impact. Usually…there are a few leaders in each group, which have the ability to throw lightning…" I remembered the demon that had killed my grandmother, and a pang of pain went through my heart. Looking down further on the page, I saw a list of ingredients…they were under the title "Vanquishing Potion." Once I saw these words, I knew what I had to do…but I was afraid. I had to go after these demons…I had to find out what had happened to my sisters.

Next week when I got Jamie to drop me off back at the manor, I went straight to work. I'd never made a potion before, but Grams had taught me how to cook, and I was pretty good at that. I didn't know if we had all of the ingredients, but after looking around up in the attic, I found all of the herbs I needed in a small box within the trunk that had once held the Book of Shadows. I now kept the Book on a pedestal in the center of the attic, where it looked like it belonged. It somehow made me feel closer to Grams, knowing that she had looked through it often when she was alive. Doing everything slowly, and after having it explode with a large bang and scaring me half to death, I had the potion ready. It had only taken me a little over an hour. As it cooled, I dug around the cabinets until I found a bunch of glass vials hidden in the back of one. Smiling at Grams, and wondering how she kept all this a secret from us…and why…? I took out as many as I could find and started filling them with the blue colored potion.

When I left the manor an hour later, my bag was full and my mind was set. I didn't know how I was going to find them…and I didn't know if my sisters would even be there…but I had to try. On the way back to the house I saw Paige looking at me, and I quickly looked away. She could tell I was up to something…but I knew she'd never guess what. We had gotten close over the last few months…but I had never told her about that night…or about the Book. She may act older, but she was only eight, almost nine…and I didn't want her to think I was crazy. After all, she was my only friend.

Later that week I told Jamie that I wanted to spend the night at the manor. She seemed concerned, and I watched as she took a good look at me.

"Are you okay Piper?" she finally asked.

"Yeah," I answered, thinking about the bag of potion bottles up in my room.

"Because…you haven't really been acting like yourself lately…" I looked up as she placed her hand on my shoulder, and I smiled sadly. I had been acting strange…I was terrified of what I had decided to do. I kept picturing what had happened to that demon when I threw Grams' potion at it…the image had been with me since it happened. I didn't know if I could do it again…or what would happen…and I was afraid to die. But, I knew I had to try. Why else would I have been led to the Book? Realizing that Jamie was still looking at me, I shook my head slightly.

"I'm fine," I lied, brushing her hand off my shoulder. "You know…it's just that…it's been six months…" Jamie eyes widened when I said this and then she looked over at the calendar. This weekend would be the six month mark since what happened. "I…I just need some time to myself," I then said in almost a whisper, and Jamie nodded.

"Sure honey, I can take you over on Friday after school."

"Thanks," I replied before giving Jamie a hug and heading back upstairs. As I entered my room, closing the door behind me, I stared in shock at what was before me. Paige was standing there, one hand holding the bag of potions, and one hand holding a small blue vial.

"Piper?" she said, confusion and worry in her features.

"Paige, what are you doing in my room!" I said loudly, but not loudly enough to bring Jamie running up the stairs. "This is my stuff, and its private!" I said angrily, grabbing it from her and then shoving it back under my bed.

"But-"

"No Paige!" I said loudly. "Do you think you can just snoop in here when you want? Do you?" I asked, taking her shoulders with my hands and shaking her. Strangely enough, she didn't start crying…I did. Disgusted with myself, I turned from her and threw myself onto my bed.

"Piper…"

"Go away Paige!" I said as loudly as I could through the tears, but she continued to look at me, and eventually walked over and placed her hand on my shoulder.

"What is it?" she asked, and not knowing what she was referring to – the potions or my crying – I turned to face her. "Piper…you're my best friend. Tell me," she then said, and I sighed as my tears subsided and I scooted over so she'd have room on the bed next to me.

"They're potions," I told her, and she looked at me, confused. "I…I never told you about that night," I whispered, and she shook her head, knowing perfectly well what I was referring to. "I…I never told the police this…but the things that killed Grams…"

"You mean the gang?" she asked, and I shook my head.

"No Paige…it wasn't a gang. Fire and electric bolts came from their hands. They were strong…not human…"

"Not…human…?" Paige said to herself, and I saw fear in here eyes.

"Oh Paige…I shouldn't be telling you this. I'm sorry…" I said quickly, lowering my head to look at my necklace. From time to time I noticed that it would glow. It did so now.

"Piper…tell me," Paige insisted. Wanting to tell someone, I relented.

"They were demons Paige…evil creatures. They appeared out of nowhere…took my sisters…and tried to take me. Grams was able to fight them off, using potions like the ones you found," I explained as Paige took everything in. "She…got rid of a lot of them…but there was one left. It…It killed her. Before she died, she shoved this necklace into my hand," I said, pointing at the pendant around my neck just as it glowed.

"It…glowed…" she said, eyes wide with curiosity.

"Yeah…I don't know why it does that…but I haven't taken it off since that night. When…when Grams died," I said, tears coming to my eyes, "the last demon came after me. I…I threw one of Grams' potions at it…and it…it was engulfed in fire and disappeared. I…I didn't know what had happened…but one time when I was at home, searching for an answer, I found a book called The Book of Shadows. I found out that my family is a family of witches."

"Witches…but…they don't exist," Paige said softly, and I shrugged.

"I don't know why Grams kept it a secret from us…but something led me to that book…and so I read through it, week by week. And then…I found an entry on the demons that…" I faded off, thinking of Prue and Phoebe.

"So you're going after them?" Paige asked, and I slowly nodded.

"And…I'm so afraid Paige. But…I have to try…I…" Paige suddenly threw her arms around me and tears started pouring from her eyes. In all my time here, I'd never seen her cry.

"Please Piper…don't…I don't want you to go. I've finally gotten a sister, and I don't want to go back to the way things were before. Please…stay with me!" I hugged her back, in shock of what I was hearing. "I love you."

"I love you too," I whispered back, rocking her gently and waiting for her tears to stop. She eventually quieted, and I took a tissue from off my night stand and wiped her face, frowning at the sight of Paige's sad eyes.

"Promise me," she finally said. "Promise me you won't go after them."

"Paige…I don't even know where to find them," I said softly as I pushed her dark hair out of her face.

"Promise me!" she said again, more forcefully.

"Paige…" Not wanting to promise her anything I couldn't keep, I just hugged her again. "I can't give up on my sisters…even if they are…dead…I need to find them." Paige just held to me tightly, not saying anything, and finally fell asleep in my arms. Smiling sadly down at my little sister, I picked her up gently, and with a little struggle, I carried her into her room. After tucking her into bed I turned to leave, but stopped when I felt her hand grab mine.

"I'll always be your sister," she whispered, and I smiled.

"And you'll always be mine," I replied. "Get some sleep." Giving her hand a squeeze, I let go of it and headed back to my room. I was exhausted, and somewhat torn between my old family and my new one.

The rest of the week Paige didn't speak much to me, but I could tell that she was keeping me in her sight at all times. Mike and Jamie thought nothing of it, thinking that my depressed mood was rubbing off on her, and both tried their best to give me my space, and cheer me up as much as possible. On Friday after school Jamie picked me up after she got Paige. I had my bag of potions, which Jamie thought was clothing, and I held it close to my side as I slipped into the back seat with Paige. She stared intensely at me the whole ride, and when we finally pulled up to the manor, I was relieved.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow after Paige's dance class," Jamie said, leaning back to kiss me on the cheek.

"Thanks," I replied, and after looking at Paige for a second, I got out of the car. When I was almost to the front door I heard a car door slam behind me, and saw Paige running towards me at top speed.

"Piper!" she called, running forward and wrapping her arms around my waist as I turned.

"Paige…" I whispered, hugging her close before pulling away. "I'll be fine…don't worry," I whispered, smiling nervously down at her. The truth was, I was terrified. "Here," I finally said. And, reaching up, I unclasped Grams' necklace and lowered it from my neck. Smiling, I reached over and put it around Paige's neck. "Keep this, okay?" I said, and Paige just smiled sadly and gave me another hug.

"You'll have to come back to get it from me, okay?" she then said, and I nodded.

"Now go back to your mom. She's waiting for you." I smiled sadly as Paige reluctantly turned around and walked back over to the car. Jamie was smiling at us, having no idea what I was about to do, but happy that Paige and I had gotten so close. After waving at them, I turned again and let myself into the house. Now that I was here…where would I begin?

To Be Continued…


	7. The Power of Three

Sisters Bound

Part 7 – The Power of Three

By: Silverstar

I spent the next few hours sifting through the Book of Shadows trying to figure out what I could do.

"This is crazy!" I said to myself as I slammed the Book shut and sat back in one of the attic chairs. "I don't even know what to look for…and even if I did, how would I vanquish the demons that Grams couldn't…" Thinking of Grams and my sisters made me even more frustrated, and before I knew it tears were spilling down my cheeks. "No…this isn't going to help…" I said to myself, but they wouldn't stop. Just as I was about to get up to go downstairs, I noticed a page on the book flip. As I focused on it, the pages started flipping more rapidly, and I rushed over to see it stop on the Pyronium page. As I looked down at it, I heard a noise in front of me. Afraid, I shot my head up to see two of them…standing there and staring at me in triumph.

"We finally have you now, witch!" one of them spat as I starred at them, clutching my bag of potions and frozen in terror. I watched as the one on the left advanced, and, trembling with fear, I reached into my bag and backed away. "We had almost given up on you," the stationary one, and leader, said as I continued to back away. What was I going to do? I could vanquish them…but then I wouldn't find my sisters…I had to find out if they were still alive. If not, then I'd pull out my potions. Stall…I have to stall…

"Why…why now?" I asked, now almost at the large attic windows, the demon only four feet in front of me.

"Why now?" the leader mimicked, and started to laugh as I placed my hand around a potion bottle for comfort. "You were the one with some sort of protection shield around you. We couldn't even sense you!" I looked at him in confusion for a moment as I started backing away to my left and around the edge of the room. The demons just laughed at my effort, knowing that my escape was useless. Protection shield….and then my eyes widened as I thought of Grams' amulet. I hadn't taken it off…and it glowed periodically…probably when the demons were trying to sense me.

"What do you want with me!" I yelled, adrenalin starting to pump through my body as I eyed the exit. "Where are my sisters!"

"Now, now, there's no need to yell," the leader said calmly as he put his hand up to stop the other from approaching me. "We need you and your sisters together to get your powers. If you come willingly, we will take you to them." I looked at the disgusting creature before me and wondered if he was lying. To my knowledge, Prue, Phoebe, and I didn't have any powers…And then I remembered the first page of the Book…The Power of Three. Was that us? I stared at the demons for another few seconds, and then stopped my futile inching towards the exit. I had to at least try…and I always had the potions in case anything went wrong…Desperation welled up in side of me as I thought of my sisters and I finally gave in.

"Okay," I finally said as I put the bag up over my shoulder, three potion bottles now concealed in my pocket, and stepped forward. "Take me to them."

I winced as the lackey grabbed my shoulder violently, and in a second I felt my stomach turn as everything went black.

The ground was cold…I shivered as I felt pain sear through my head. What…what had happened? In a moment I remembered the demons, and I opened my eyes and sat up quickly. Bad idea. Bringing my hand up to the side of my head, I felt something wet. It was blood. Wincing, I looked around, but everything was dark. The most I could make out was that I was in some sort of cell. I had to get out of here. As I reached around to find my bag, I realized that it was gone. They…they had taken it….Trying not to panic, I put my hand into my sweatshirt pocket to feel the three potion bottles I had managed to smuggle. They were unbroken – a miracle. As I tried to push down my panic I heard something…someone's voice. Afraid, I dropped to the ground quickly and listened.

"P….Piper?" What? Slowly getting up, I walked to the edge of my cell and looked across the room. There, in a cell across the room…"Piper? Is that you?"

"Phoebe?"

"Piper! It is you!"

"Phoebe? Oh my God…" I again dropped to the floor, but this time from surprise and joy. "Phoebe…" I said again, and started to cry. I could tell that she was doing the same thing. "Phoebe…"I finally said as I was able to pull myself together. "Tell me everything." Looking over, I could just make her out sitting on the floor of her cell with her hands around the metal bars. She looked weak…and hurt.

"Piper…" I heard her whisper, and I waited. "Prue said you'd come…but…but not like this. Now you're trapped too."

"Prue? She's alive too!" I said with excitement. I hadn't really believed my captors when they told me my sisters were okay…now it was real.

"Yeah…but she…she always tried to fight off the guards…and get away…they took her into another room…She was in your cell before…and when they came in – I guess with you – I heard her yelling. I heard her say your name. There was some sort of struggle. Don't you remember?"

"No…But…but I do have a cut on my head," I said to her, wincing as I remembered the pain.

"Piper, we have to get out of here," I heard Phoebe whisper. "They…they say they want our powers…they're going to do some sort of ritual…something about when the three of us are together…they'll be able to do some sort of…spell to get them from us…Piper, do you know what they're talking about? They say that it will work since…since our guardian is…dead….Piper?" I thought of Grams and wanted to spare Phoebe any more pain, but I knew it was useless.

"Grams…" I finally whispered. "They killed her that night." I heard Phoebe take in a large breath, but if she was crying, she was doing it silently. I couldn't see her. "Phoebe…I've looked through Grams' things…and found out that we're from a family…of witches." At this point I don't think Phoebe had it in her to protest. She'd already seen too much. "Grams must have taken away our powers…now that she's gone…"

"Piper…how long has it been?" I heard Phoebe ask quietly. How…how could I answer that?

"How long do you think?"

"I…I don't know. There are times when they do something to our food…and we black out for days…maybe longer, I'm not sure. All the days swirl together, because there's no day here. It's always dark."

"Phoebe…you know that those monsters are…demons, right?" Phoebe didn't answer and I continued. "You…you've been gone for…six months now." As I said this I heard Phoebe start to cry and my heart broke. "Phoebe, we're going to get out of here," I told her and she started to quiet down. "I have three potions that I made…they should destroy them. They're the same ones Grams used."

"But…there are more than three Piper…"

"We can't give up!" I then told her. "They have my backpack, and that has a lot more potions in it. We just need to find it. We…we can't…" As I said this I started to feel a little woozy.

"Piper…Piper, are you okay?" I heard Phoebe ask.

"Yeah…just dizzy," I whispered back as I laid my head on the cold hard floor. "My head…"

"Piper, we don't have much time," I heard Phoebe say as I closed my eyes. "After the ritual they'll kill us…We have to find Prue."

"Yeah," I answered back. "We do." Sitting up, I looked around the cell until I found the front and the lock. "Phoebe, will a guard come if we call?"

"Yeah…but, I don't think you want to Piper…they'll…" Phoebe went silent and I didn't want to think about what they'd done to her or to Prue.

"Then you stay quiet," I replied. "I'll get one over here and then when it opens the door I can throw my potion on it. Then I can come get you out." Phoebe didn't say anything, but I could see her lie on the ground with her head facing my cell so she could watch. Grabbing one bottle of potion, I pulled off the cork, stopped the bottle with my thumb, and kneeled down on the floor. Opening my mouth, I let out a blood curdling scream.

Fifteen seconds later two of them entered the room. I saw them look at Phoebe, who was pretending to be passed out, and then over at me.

"Shut up!" I heard one of them say, but I continued. Both of them looked at each other, and then advanced towards my cell. As soon as one of them pulled out the keys and unlocked the door I let my potion fly. They both were engulfed in flames and had disintegrated before they could even scream. Surprised at how well my potion had worked, I stared at the scorch marks for a few seconds before coming to my senses. We had to hurry. Grabbing the keys, I rushed out of the cell as fast as I could with my hurt head, and over to Phoebe. I almost gasped when I got closer to her, but stopped myself. She was so thin and had dark bruises on her face.

"Phoebe…" I whispered, and then quickly opened up her cell. She immediately flew into my arms, and we stood there hugging each other and crying. "I…thought you were dead," I whispered.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she whispered back, and I hugged her close to me. "We didn't know where you were." After a minute I knew we had to hurry. Pulling away from my little sister, I looked around the room.

"Do you know where they took Prue?" I asked.

"I heard them take her out into the hallway and to the right," she answered, and I nodded.

"Let's go." And with that, we sneaked silently over to the door. I guess there had been only two guards, because there was no one else in the hallway.

"They're probably off preparing for the ritual," Phoebe whispered and I nodded. Taking Phoebe's hand, I squeezed it gently and lead her down the corridor to the right. We soon came upon two doors, one on the right and one on the left. After sending up a prayer, I placed my ear on the left door and listened. Nothing. Phoebe was doing the same on the right. "I hear some of them in here," she whispered. "This must be the ritual room."

"Then let's try this one," I replied. Phoebe hesitantly nodded and came up behind me. "Ready?" I pushed open the heavy door to a dark quiet room. Phoebe slipped in after me and we quickly shut the door behind us. All was quiet and I felt relief that none of the demons were in here. As we stood there catching our breaths, I heard a rustle from across the room. Grabbing Phoebe's hand for comfort, I walked forward with her behind me. Finally, we came to the end of the room and found another cell. I could make out someone on the ground 10 feet back…

"Prue!" Phoebe immediately said, throwing herself at the cell and clutching to the bars. "Prue, are you okay?" I just starred at the almost lifeless form with unbelief.

"Prue…?" I finally whispered. Running up next to Phoebe, I fumbled with the keys until I had unlocked the door. We both ran in and dropped down next to Prue. I sighed in relief when I saw that she was still breathing, but winced at the new and painful looking black eye that she bore. She was also very skinny and sickly looking…pale. Leaning down, I gently shook her shoulder as Phoebe brushed her dark and dirty hair out of her face and away from a small gash just above her black left eye. "Prue!" I said again, wanting so badly for her to open her eyes. A minute later, I felt her stir and she slowly opened her eyes. As they focused on me, I saw her smile and I smiled back. "Prue!" Leaning down, I wrapped my arms around her and held her in a hug.

"Piper…" was all she could get out before tears spilled from her eyes and she hugged me as strong as she could. "Where's Phoebe?" she then asked, and I pulled her slowly up off the ground so that she was kneeling. Phoebe hugged her from behind, and I watched her turn to see her better and hug her back. "I told you, didn't I?" she then said, and Phoebe smiled slightly and nodded. "But…how did you guys get out?" she asked.

"There's no time for that," I replied. "I only have two more potions to destroy those monsters. They took my bag with the rest."

"Potions?" Prue said slowly with confusion, and I nodded. I quickly explained about the Book and everything I knew about the demons as we helped Prue up and out of the cell. "But…what about Grams?" she asked, and I starred at her for a moment before lowering my head. I didn't have to answer her. My actions were enough, and I knew that Prue understood. "Now that you mention it, I did see them with your bag. They took it into the room across the hall."

"So, do we want to try to escape…or get rid of them?" I asked Prue. It was weird how quickly we had fallen back into our routine. Prue was the oldest, the leader.

"You said you already got 2?" she asked, and I nodded. "Well…if we don't try, then they'll come after us again…we'll be hunted for the rest of our lives..."

"We're going after them?" Phoebe asked. She looked scared. To me it seemed that while Prue had been fighting this whole time, Phoebe had given up.

"We're going after them," Prue responded as she reached forward and gave Phoebe a hug. I watched them with tears in my eyes, and then leant forward to join them.

"I love you guys," I said quietly.

"We love you," they responded, and I laughed at their simultaneous response. They were thin, dirty, and injured, but they still made me smile.

"Piper, you said you still have two potions?" I nodded, and pulled them out, handing one to Prue and one to Phoebe.

"It doesn't take much for a vanquish, so don't throw the whole thing at them," I said, and they nodded.

"We'll lure them over and use the potions," Prue then said, "while you get the bag. If anything happens, and you guys can get out, get out. Just keep running." Phoebe and I nodded, but I knew very well that I'd never leave either of my sisters behind. I'd gone through too much to find them. Prue then reached forward and took my hand with hers. She did the same with Phoebe. I was amazed at how strong she was even though she was hurt the worst. "Let's go." I nodded, and Phoebe and I followed Prue over to the exit. After listening for a moment we opened the heavy door and walked out into the hallway. I was scared, but took comfort in the fact that I wasn't the only one. I could see the fear in Phoebe and Prue's eyes as well.

Taking a deep breath, I let my sisters walk up to the door first and was surprised to see that it was partially open. Prue and Phoebe slipped in and in the dark I couldn't see them anymore. However, the few candles that were there allowed me see the whole clan surrounding a table. After looking frantically, I saw my bag on the floor to the right of their round table and I slipped into the shadows and waited quietly. In seconds I heard a crash and looked over to my left along with the demons. Prue and Phoebe had knocked over some ceremonial weapons. Not wanting to watch, I dashed over to my bag as the demons were distracted. Seconds later I heard screams…but they were demon screams. Prue and Phoebe had used their potions. My hand clutching the bag, I turned to see the leader standing behind me, and the angry expression on his face didn't look good to me. With no time to loose, I reached in, grabbed a handful of potions, and threw them over towards Prue and Phoebe. A few hit unsuspecting demons on the head, and in the chaos I saw my sisters picking up the bottles that hadn't broken. The leader had backed away at the sight of the potions, giving me time to run and roll some more bottles over to my sisters. It was in our advantage that the demons wanted us alive, and therefore were afraid of using their powers on us. As I ran, the bag in my hand, I felt a sharp burning pain on my left shoulder. Falling to the ground, I screamed, and reached back, realizing that the leader had hit me with a fire ball. I guess my theory was wrong. Turning, I saw him approach. In the fall my bag had fallen away to my left and I now had no potions. Just as he walked up and was leaning over me I saw Phoebe grab the bag out of the corner of my eyes. A potion came flying and as it hit the leader in the back he started screaming. Seconds later he was gone. Looking over, I saw Prue surrounded by the remaining demons, oblivious to their leader's death. Holding my shoulder with my hand, I got up and rushed over to Phoebe. In seconds we let the remaining potions fly, and the clan was destroyed.

To Be Continued…


	8. The Journey Home

Sisters Bound

Part 8 – The Journey Home

By: Silverstar03

I couldn't believe it…the whole clan was gone. Prue looked over at Phoebe and me, and in seconds she rushed over and wrapped her arms around us.

"You guys saved my life…" she whispered, and I winced as she squeezed my hurt shoulder. "Piper…" Backing away slightly, she looked me over before frowning. "We have to get you to the hospital…that looks really bad." Smiling at my older sister, I just shook my head.

"I'll be fine," I told her as Phoebe slipped her arms around my waist to give me a hug. "Thanks," I told her, referring not only to her hug, but to her potion aiming skills. She smiled, knowing what I was referring to, and then looked over at Prue.

"Can we get out of here?" she asked her. Prue nodded, but I knew she had no idea how we were going to get out.

"Let's just keep moving," I said suddenly, wanting very badly to get my sisters out of there and to safety. After all, I had promised Paige I'd be back, and I intended on keeping my promise. Thinking of her made me smile, but as Prue nodded at this plan and took the lead, I couldn't help thinking about what would happen next…when we got back…if we got back. I followed Prue, Phoebe's hand in mine, but only after gathering the two remaining potions from the floor. I wanted to make sure that we all returned in one piece.

As we made our way down the dark corridor, I looked at Prue and noticed her holding her right arm very stiff and close to her body. She must have hurt it…I frowned at the sight and then looked over at Phoebe to my right. She seemed okay considering the situation. She looked over at me after a moment and smiled. It wasn't the naïve happy-go-lucky smile that I had once known…but it was a smile nonetheless and I would take anything I could get. After at least ten minutes of walking, Prue stopped. Phoebe and I walked up to her seconds later and saw that the corridor split into two different hallways.

"Which way should we take?" Phoebe whispered, and I looked down both corridors. Both were dark and it was impossible to tell which way we should go. As I stepped up closer to Prue I could see her clutching her arm more tightly and there was sweat dripping down her face. I then started wondering if she had internal damage. My sister wasn't looking too good.

"We need to take a break," I said quickly, placing my free hand gently in Prue's shoulder and pushing her to the floor. Phoebe's hand was still in mine, but she let go as she sat down in the shadows as well, leaning her back against the cold rock wall. I sat between them and stared at Prue. She was breathing heavily and hunching over slightly. "Prue, what's wrong?" I asked her in the calmest voice I could muster.

"Nothing, I'm fine," she managed to grunt out, but I saw her now holding her stomach and her right arm was shaking as she winced in pain. Slowly, I reached forward and pulled up what little shirt Prue had left as gently as possible. The bruise on her flat stomach was massive and I could see her stomach muscles heaving. "Stop," she said as she tried to brush me away. I gently laid her shirt back down and then put my arm around her, tears in my eyes.

"You're hurt pretty bad Prue," I whispered, trying to keep Phoebe from hearing and trying to keep our location a secret. Phoebe was now leaning on my left shoulder right above my scorched flesh from the fire ball. I winced as her head fell on my shoulder, but when I looked over and saw her eyes closed, I knew she was asleep. I couldn't wake her. When I looked back at Prue I saw tears in her eyes, but they weren't falling. She was holding them back.

"One of the demons did this to me," she whispered. "When they brought you into the room before, I saw that it was you. I tried to get to you…" I held my hand up to stop Prue from wheezing out any more of her story.

"Shhhh, it's okay. Just don't talk," I whispered while I put my hand over hers. Prue smiled and gently squeezed my hand back with her bruised and bony one.

"But…we can't stay here long," Prue whispered, and I knew she was right.

"Prue…we have no idea how to get out. Can we even get out? I haven't seen a window or anything…I think we're under ground."

"If there's a way down, there's a way up too," Prue answered, but I just shook my head.

"They used no doors or ladders to get us here…they teleported somehow…"

"Are you saying we can't get out?" Prue asked. I remained silent and we sat there for a few more minutes. "We have to keep moving," she finally said, and I knew she was right. After gently waking Phoebe I helped Prue to her feet and wrapped her arm around my shoulder. Phoebe walked to the other side of Prue and put her arm around Prue's back, trying to support her as well since we weren't able to get Prue to move her right arm.

"Right or left?" Phoebe then asked, and I looked down both corridors again.

"I say right," I told her, so we headed right and into the darkness. About ten more minutes passed by and we came across nothing. No demons, no doorways, and no lights. I started to worry, but I bottled my panic up inside of me, if only for my sisters. Prue was getting worse and I knew now that she was definitely injured internally. Phoebe was exhausted, but she kept staggering along, a look of determination on her face. All of her strength was being used to help keep Prue moving and to just keep walking. Some time later I stopped suddenly and motioned to my sisters to keep quiet. We listened intently, and I heard footsteps echoing behind us. There was someone, or something, back there. After giving a look to my sisters we rushed forward as quickly and quietly as we could. Seeing a door to our right, I headed in that direction and my sisters saw it as well. Stumbling into the lit room, we shut the door behind us and slid to the floor. The room was empty, but was lit with six torches. Our eyes closed immediately upon seeing the light while we waited for them to adjust. As we sat there breathing heavily I again heard the footsteps. I nudged my sisters instantly and we all held our breaths as the footsteps came closer, and then passed by the door.

"Thank God," I heard Phoebe whisper as we regained normal breathing again, and I silently seconded the motion. When I could finally open my eyes I was able to see that we were in some sort of bed chamber. A large wooden bed with dark red sheets was in the corner and chests lined the walls. There also seemed to be some sort of altar or worshiping area in the center of the room. The demon was out…but who knew how long it would stay that way? Phoebe was now looking around the room as well, but Prue was just sitting beside me breathing heavily with her eyes closed. She was worrying me.

"We have to keep moving," I said quickly, looking at Phoebe as I said it. She got up tiredly, but instead of helping me get Prue up, she walked over towards the altar. "Phoebe, what are you doing?" I asked, picking Prue's arm up from around my shoulder and putting it by her side as I stood up. I quickly walked closer to Phoebe and saw her staring at a bin on the floor near the altar.

"Piper…what if there's something here that can send us home?" she asked, and my eyes widened at the thought. Kneeling beside the altar, I started going through everything I could find. There were a lot of potion ingredients, but without the Book I didn't know what I could do.

"Phoebe…I wouldn't know how to use any of this even if I could," I told her, and she bowed her head in disappointment as I said this. "I'm sorry Phoebs," I then whispered, bringing her into a hug as I did so. She hugged me back as tightly as she could and we then looked over at Prue.

"Is Prue going to die?" Phoebe asked timidly and I tightened my grasp on her as she did so.

"Of course not!" I told her. "We just have to get her to a doctor."

"How?" Phoebe then asked, and I looked down at her. "We…we can't even find our way out-"

"Stop it!" I told her sternly as I made my way over to Prue and she followed me. "We're going to get out. Now help me get Prue up. We have to keep moving." Phoebe mutely followed me, and in a few minutes we were on our way again. I prayed as we made our way down the corridor, and maybe it worked. We encountered no other demons on our way. Something told me that the demons who had captured us didn't want anyone else to know that we were there. Because of that, we were being kept deep within these caves. Good at a safety standpoint, but bad for escape purposes. I didn't know how long it had been since our escape, but I was exhausted. Phoebe was stumbling forward, barely helping me support Prue now since she could barely support herself. But I didn't hear one complaint from her. She was pressing forward. Prue hadn't spoken a word since before the chamber we had stopped in, and her feet were barely moving now. Progress was slow, and I knew we needed somewhere to rest. But where was it safe to rest? Nowhere. That's what my brain was telling me.

"Piper…?" I heard Phoebe whisper, and I stopped and looked at her. She was staring behind us with an expression of fear on her face. When I listened I knew what she was afraid of. I heard voices not ten yards back, and they were advancing quickly.

"Help me with Prue!" I whispered in urgency, and we stumbled forward at a slightly quicker pace. It wasn't quick enough. When I saw a doorway on my left I held my breath, motioned at Phoebe, and we rushed towards it and out of the way of the advancing demons. Throwing ourselves through the doorway and to the ground, I held my breath and kept my head down. Prue had fallen on my right and Phoebe was on my left. Upon hearing a noise, I slowly lifted my head and saw something that terrified me. Three tall demons stood at the table in front of us. All had dark hair, red glowing eyes, and different markings on their foreheads. Phoebe squeezed my hand with hers a second later, and I knew she had seen them too. To make matters worse, I heard the demons that had been coming up behind us in the hallway come in through the door a second later.

"Well…what do we have here?" I heard one of the creatures behind us ask, and I looked around quickly to see four standing behind us.

"They stumbled in a second ago," another one said. "Seems like you scared them in."

"Escapees?" a female asked.

"Seems like…I guess we have a few more sacrifices for this week's ceremony…"

As the conversation continued I nudged Phoebe with my elbow and got her slowing crawling towards the wall on our left. The demons were arguing over whose we were and how we might have a bounty…and if so, who would get it. I started to inch behind Phoebe, but then remembered Prue. She couldn't crawl…she could barely move. When I looked at her I saw that her eyes were still closed. I couldn't just leave her behind.

"Hey!" Looking up, I saw that the demons had noticed our movement. One grabbed onto my right arm and Prue's left. Before I knew it, we were being hurled across the remainder of the room and towards Phoebe, who had made it to the wall. I hit the wall hard, and closed my eyes as I heard a crack and pain seared up my left arm. I hit the ground with a thud and remained still, white flashing under my eyelids as the pain escalated. I then heard the demons laughing as they resumed their conversation. When I finally opened my eyes I saw Prue lying in front of me. She hadn't been thrown against the wall, Thank God. Phoebe was on my right clinging to the wall in fear and staring at Prue and me. I saw her let out a breath when I opened my eyes, but she made no move towards me. She was terrified. Shaking my head slightly, I forced myself to think. What could we do to get out? I then remembered the two potion vials that I still had. Using my right hand, I reached into my pocket and felt around. My spirits fell as I realized that one of the vials had broken…But, miraculously, one of them had remained intact. I slowly pulled it out, catching Phoebe's eye as I did so, and saw a flash of hope. That's all I needed to motivate me. Wincing silently, I pulled myself up into a sitting position and steadied myself against the wall. At my movement the demons looked over and then started advancing.

"It was decided that you're coming with me little miss," one of them said maliciously as he looked at me. Once they were in range, I let my potion fly and watched as they all staggered backwards and flames appeared before me. But…in seconds the flames were gone and all seven demons were staring angrily at me.

"Witches," the female spat, and I grabbed for Phoebe's hand with mine. I did the same for Prue, and as I looked down to find her hand, I noticed the angle of my arm from my elbow. It wasn't right…it wasn't right at all. I forced back my cries upon moving my arm and still reached for Prue's hand. Hers didn't grip mine back, and that scared me more than my broken arm. She was unconscious. My mind raced, trying to think of something as the whole pack advanced towards us. Then, I thought of the Spirit Board. The inscription on the back….

"The power of three will set us free," I whispered and Phoebe looked at me quickly. "The power of three will set us free," I said again, and then saw recognition in Phoebe's eyes.

"The power of three will set us free," we both said at the same time. As we continued to chant, I looked down and saw Prue open her eyes slightly. "The power of three will set us free." As the demons advanced warily Prue squeezed my hand.

"The power of three will set us free," we all said together, and as the demons came up in front of us, white lights surrounded me and my sisters. As Prue collapsed again into unconsciousness, light blinded my vision and we were pulled from our hell as hope filled my soul. In the distance I heard a voice calling my name.

To Be Continued…


	9. Safe At Last

Sisters Bound

Part 9 – Safe At Last

By: Silverstar03

Here's the last chapter. I hope everyone enjoys!

"Piper! Piper!" I heard a voice calling my name. Was I still alive? Gathering what little strength I had left, I squinted my eyes open. We weren't in the demons' world anymore…we were…"Piper! Piper!" Blinking my eyes a few times, I realized that someone was kneeling before me.

"Paige…?" I asked, still uncertain. It…it looked like I was home.

"Piper! You're alive!" she cried, and I then saw that she was crying. In moments her arms were around me and I winced as she brushed my scorched shoulder and my broken arm. Slowly, I picked up my right arm and wrapped it around her. But I was tired, emotionally drained, and in pain.

"My…my sisters!" I finally said, forcing Paige to back away slightly.

"There're…there're right here," she said softly, and when I looked over to my left I saw Prue and Phoebe both lying there. Prue's eyes were closed, but Phoebe's were wide open and she was looking around. She was looking around the house that she hadn't seen in six months.

"Phoebe," I said softly, and at the sound of my voice she looked over at me, for the first time realizing that we were all there with her.

"Who…who are you?" she asked Paige, slowly inching closer towards me as she kept her eyes glued on my sister.

"That's Paige," I answered. "I've been staying with her family…Paige, why are you here?" I then asked her as Phoebe crawled up next to me and I put my good arm around her protectively.

"When…when I got home I was really worried about you Piper. A few hours later when I was in my room, I saw that your necklace was glowing. It glowed so brightly…and I knew something was wrong. So I begged Mom to bring me. She didn't want to at first, but I told her that I had called you and that you wanted me to come. All I knew was that I had to help you!"

"Paige…" I said as Phoebe slumped against me and closed her eyes. "Phoebe?" I asked, shaking her gently. There was no response. "Paige, we have to call an ambulance!" I said loudly, about to get up as Paige held out her hand.

"I called 911 as soon as I saw you three…Prue looks really bad." Relieved at the news of an ambulance probably only minutes away, I looked over at Prue and saw her breathing heavily.

"I…I still don't understand how we escaped," I whispered, trying to keep my mind off my big sister.

"I…I think I might have helped," Paige said slowly, and I looked at her in confusion. "When I got here I searched the house. You weren't anywhere. I eventually made my way up to the attic and…and I found the Book of Shadows. I…I found a page to summon a lost witch. I had to try it…so I did. I went into your kitchen, I did what the book said…and an hour later, the spell was complete. I didn't think it would work…I said it over and over and over…and then I heard a noise. When I walked into your family room I saw you three…I saw you…" Paige was now crying again, and I let her lay her head on my lap.

"It's okay Paige…we're going to be fine now. Everything will be fine…When we were cornered, we started to chant. I think it was a spell from my mom."

"Your mom?"

"Yeah…our spell must have connected with yours…that's how we got back. You saved us Paige…thank you." As I said this I felt my consciousness slipping away. Paige was now shaking me gently, but I couldn't hold on any longer. The pain in my left arm was too much. After smiling slightly at her, I slumped forward and fell into darkness.

I didn't like the dark…bad things happened in the dark. Still…I felt safe. Why did I feel safe? Listening closely, I heard a low hum in the room around me. What was that? Collecting my thoughts, I thought back to the last thing that I could remember…Prue, Phoebe, and Paige. Prue, Phoebe, and Paige! Forcing away the fatigue I felt, I slowly opened my eyes. My shoulder was tightly bandaged and my arm was in a cast at my side. Bringing my right hand up, I felt the bandage on my forehead. As I did so, I looked around the room, still trying to believe that we were back…that we were safe. As I lifted my head and looked over to the left, I saw another bed. Phoebe was laying there, her eyes closed, and her features relaxed. Tears welled up in my eyes when I saw her and I let them fall. After all these months, I wasn't crying tears of sadness. These were tears of joy.

"Piper…Piper!" Tearing my eyes away from Phoebe, I looked up to see Jamie standing in the doorway. There were tears in her eyes as well.

"Jamie…" I said softly, and at the sound of my voice she rushed over to sit beside me on my bed. In seconds her arms were around me, just like a mother.

"Oh Piper, I'm so glad you're awake. When I got the call from the hospital…" When Jamie finally let me go I was crying even harder. "Oh honey, are you okay?" she asked, brushing some hair out of my face with her cool hand. "Are you in any pain? The doctors said they gave you pain medication, but if you're still in any pain-"

"No," I said softly. "I'm okay." Jamie smiled at this and then reached up to pull the "call nurse" button.

"We should make sure, just in case." She said, and I closed my eyes as she took her hand in mine. "Piper…" I opened my eyes when I heard Jamie say my name and looked up at her. "Everything is going to be fine." Everything is going to be fine…I guess it would…at the moment, I was too tired and too overwhelmed to really think about how everything was going to be. In moments a nurse had entered the room. When she saw that I was awake she ran back out and minutes later a doctor entered. Jamie stood back to let him near me and I eyed him carefully as he did so. "Piper, this is doctor Nolan," Jamie told me, and I watched him as he leaned over me.

"Hi Piper. I'm just going to take a look at you, okay?" I didn't answer and remained still as he looked into my eyes with a little light. "Can you follow this light with your eyes for me?" I did what he asked and waited as he wrote something down. "Good, good." He then checked my heart and my temperature. "Well, you seem to be doing fine. You don't seem to have a concussion, and you don't have a fever, so I doubt there's any infection from that shoulder." I looked at him as he wrote some more things down on his clipboard. "She'll be just fine," he said as he turned to Jamie and I saw her smile in relief.

"Thank you so much," she replied, and he nodded.

"I'd like to keep her here one or two more nights for observation, and if nothing changes you can take her home."

"Thank you, thank you so much!" As the doctor left I looked over at my sister and frowned.

"But I can't leave them…Prue! Where's Prue!" I then shouted, realizing that she wasn't in the room with Phoebe and me.

"Piper-"

"Where is she! Prue!" I called as I struggled to get up. Jamie rushed forward holding me down with not too much difficulty. The meds they had me on were making me groggy.

"Piper, Prue is in the room next door. Piper, calm down. Do you hear me? Prue is in the room next door." I laid back, taking in what she had said, and then took a deep breath. After exhaling slowly I looked up at Jamie and saw relief.

"Is she going to be okay?" I asked. "And what about Phoebe?"

"They'll be fine in time sweetie. You're all going to be fine. Now, try to get some rest. Okay?" I slowly nodded as Jamie pulled the covers up around me a little more and leaned forward to kiss my forehead. I saw her get up to go sit in a chair in front of my bed and then I looked over at my sleeping sister. As I watched her I felt my eyelids close and I fell into darkness.

The next time I opened my eyes sunlight filled the room. I woke to find Paige sitting on a chair next to my bed. Her head was lying on her arms and she was leaning onto the bed beside me. She was asleep. Picking up my good arm, I gently stroked her hair back and watched her sleep.

"She's been worried about you." Glancing up quickly at that voice, I looked over towards Phoebe. She was sitting up in bed and watching me.

"Phoebe…" I whispered, looking over at her and wishing I could be sitting with her.

"I've met these people…" Phoebe said, waving her hand at Paige. "Jamie, Mike, and Paige…they seem to really care for you."

"Yeah…they became my family after…"

"But you never gave up on us. Piper, you saved our lives."

"And I'd do it again." Phoebe smiled at this statement and I smiled back. "What day is it?"

"Sunday…A Sunday in March…the last thing I knew it was September…We even missed Christmas."

"But you won't be missing another one," I assured her. "Tell me, are you okay Phoebs?"

"Yeah…I'm just being treated for malnourishment. Just a few cuts and bruises besides that. Nothing to worry about."

"Good. What about Prue?"

"She…she hasn't woken up yet, and the doctors won't let me out of bed to see her. I feel so bad…no one's in there with her…"

"I was sitting with her," I heard a voice below me say, and when I looked down Paige's arms had encircled me and she was holding me in a hug. I hugged her close to me and bent down to give her a kiss on the head.

"You sat with her?" I asked.

"Yes…Mom said I could, so I sat with her."

"How is she?" I asked, and then looked up at Phoebe.

"They won't tell me exactly what's wrong with her," Phoebe answered. "They just keep telling me that she's going to be fine."

"I heard the doctors taking to Mom and Dad," Paige then said. "They said they don't want you to go through any more stress than necessary."

"That's ridiculous," I spat. "Not knowing what's wrong is going to give us even more stress." Paige shrugged and then sat up in her chair.

"I heard Doctor Nolan talking, so I can tell you what's wrong if you want to know." Phoebe and I both nodded and gave Paige our utmost attention.

"Please," I told her, and she smiled.

"Okay. But remember that she's going to be fine." We nodded again and waited. "Her right arm is fractured in three places, she had to get five stitches on the cut above her eye, she has a concussion, and…there was some internal bleeding."

"Internal bleeding…" Phoebe echoed, and Paige nodded.

"But it's okay cause the doctors stopped it."

"But she hasn't woken up yet…" Phoebe said softly…"And they won't fully know that she's okay until she wakes up and they check her out."

"I'm sure she'll be fine Phoebs," I replied, but doubt was forming in my mind as well. "Paige…will you go sit with her? Tell us if she wakes up?" Paige nodded obediently, gave me one last hug, and then headed for the door. Once she was gone I looked over at Phoebe and smiled sadly. I had my sisters back, and that meant the world to me. But, would getting my true family back keep me from my second family? What would happen to us? I saw that Phoebe couldn't really get out of bed because of some IVs that were hooked to her. Gathering my strength, I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and sat up completely.

"Piper…" Phoebe said, not wanting me to get hurt, but I continued. Slowly, I stood up and shuffled over to Phoebe's bed. She was smiling the whole time. When I reached her she gladly scooted over to give me space beside her. I slipped under the covers and hugged my sister close.

"I'm never leaving you out of my sight ever!" I told her, and she laughed.

"Don't you think that might be a little hard? Especially when I get a boyfriend?" I laughed at this comment.

"You're only ten. You're too young for a boyfriend!" Phoebe just laughed at me and snuggled closer. I rolled my eyes at her and then tilted my head to lean on top of hers. A half hour later we were still sitting comfortably when a nurse came into the room with a cart, followed by Jamie. When they saw that I wasn't in my bed they looked around quickly and found me snuggled close to Phoebe.

"Piper Halliwell! You are not supposed to be out of bed!" Jamie said, and I think that I scared her for a second. The nurse just shook her head and walked over to me.

"Come on, I'll help you back to your bed," she said kindly, and I let her help me up and walk me back over to the other side of the room. Phoebe frowned, but she didn't protest. It was sad…the things that were different. There was one point in time that Phoebe always spoke her mind, and if she didn't like something, you knew it. That wasn't the Phoebe that I had grown up with…but I would take any Phoebe I could get. The nurse got me back in bed and then left us each a tray of food. It didn't look very appetizing to me, but with Jamie staring me down I knew I had to eat. When I looked over at Phoebe I saw her slowly eating through the whole tray, so I began to eat as well.

"Can I get you girls anything?" Phoebe looked up as she realized Jamie was talking to her too, and then slowly shook her head. I followed suit and continued to eat my lunch as I smiled. I loved Jamie for including my little sister…I loved my family so much.

An hour later the nurse came back to get our trays and then left. Jamie said she was going to go home to meet Mike, but that they'd be back later.

"Paige doesn't want to leave, so I'm going to send her in here to stay with you. Is that okay?"

"Of course," I told her, smiling at the thought of Paige pouting to her mother that she wanted to stay. Phoebe usually kept quiet when Jamie was in the room, and as soon as she left I saw my sister's head pop up.

"Piper…what's going to happen to us?"

"I…I don't know how to answer that question," I replied. "I was staying with the Mathews' when you and Prue were missing…but I'm not sure if they have enough room, or if they'd want all of us…But I'm never going to leave you or Prue again. Do you hear me?" Phoebe nodded and seemed a little comforted. "Why don't you turn on the TV?" I asked, and in a second my sister was absorbed in some television show. This was about the time Paige entered, sat down next to me on my bed, and put her arm around me.

"You okay?" she asked, and I smiled in response.

"You okay?" I asked back, and she nodded. "Prue?"

"No change." My smile sagged slightly at this news, but I tried not to show my disappointment.

"Come on, let's watch TV," I told her, and for the next few hours we flipped channels, watched cartoons, and laughed at a comedy show. It felt good to forget about everything else and just laugh.

To Be Continued…


	10. An Anticipated Awakening

Sisters Bound

Part 10 – An Anticipated Awakening

By: Silverstar03

This is the last chapter! I swear! '

Later that night after dinner I turned the television off and sat back. Paige was sitting in Prue's room at my request and Phoebe was asleep. She slept a lot…but she had been through so much these past months that I didn't blame her. I liked watching her sleep, because she looked so peaceful, just like I remembered her. I smiled sadly at this thought as I heard our door open and I looked over to see Mike and Jamie walk in. I hadn't seen Mike since I woke up and his presence brought a smile to my face.

"Mike," I whispered, trying not to wake Phoebe.

"Hey little girl," he teased and then leaned over for a hug. I gladly gave him one while Jamie sat down on the end of my bed. Mike was soon standing behind her with his hands on her shoulders. "So, how are you feeling?" Mike asked, and I smiled.

"I feel pretty good considering all the medication they have me on," I answered jokingly and Mike smiled. "But I am a little tired."

"That's understandable," he replied as he looked down at Jamie.

"You guys…what's up?" I asked. Something seemed off.

"It's just that…the police want to question all three of you…Piper…what happened? How did this happen?" Jamie asked, and I looked down at these words. I hadn't even thought about the police.

"I…I don't remember," I said softly, but I knew they could tell I was lying.

"Piper, please tell us," Jamie pleaded. "Paige claims that she fell asleep, and when she woke up you were all there. We can't get the truth out of her, so she'll have to be questioned by the police. She's so young…we don't want her exposed to this kind of world."

"How do you know that Paige wasn't telling the truth?" I asked, looking up at them as I did so. Both stared at me in silence for a period of time before Jamie spoke again.

"Piper…your sisters reappeared after being kidnapped for six months. All three of you are injured badly, and the gang is still out there. All of you could still be in danger and now Paige might me caught up in this as well." Jamie was staring at me hard and Mike was looking sadly over at Phoebe, his hands still on Jamie's shoulders. Tears came to my eyes as I realized what my foster parents were telling me. They were afraid for their safety and the safety of their daughter…they didn't want to risk having us around. But…I was sure that the whole clan that was after us had been vanquished. We got everyone, or at least all of the leaders. Even though I thought we were safe, I could never be sure. If the Mathews' didn't want us with them, there was nothing I could do. Unfortunately, that realization didn't make my heart stop hurting. I had to try to stay with them! They were my family too.

"Jamie…Mike…" I barely whispered as tears fell down my face. "I said I don't remember anything," I then cried, looking at both of them in the eyes as I did so. "I…I don't know what happened…but if the gang were after us, then I'm sure we'd all be dead by now. Look around, we're not dead! My sisters and I survived these attacks. These gang members would have killed Prue and Phoebe long ago if they were going to. But they didn't! My sisters have been kept alive these past six months, and now they're back. My family has been given a second chance…Please don't condemn us for this…we're victims…" Unable to speak any longer, I fell into sobs and let my head drop. Jamie immediately rushed to my side and pulled me into a hug.

"We didn't mean to make you upset Piper," she soothed, rubbing my back gently as I sobbed into her shoulder. "We've just been doing a lot of thinking and a lot of talking. It will be for the best if you tell the police everything you know."

"But I don't remember!" I said again between sobs and Jamie held me even more tightly to her, rocking me gently back and forth as she did so. This felt like the embrace of a mother. I didn't want to give it up. "I…I love you guys," I finally said as I quieted. "I love you both…and I love Paige as a sister…but I love Phoebe and Prue too. I'm a part of them, and they are a part of me."

"It's okay honey, we understand," Mike then said, walking up from the end of my bed to stand next to us. "We don't want to give you up either…But…it's going to get complicated from here. Jamie and I just need to talk it out." I nodded slowly as Jamie loosened her grip on me and set me back against my pillows. I looked at these people and felt a tinge of betrayal…but then I saw the torn look in Jamie's eyes and the grief in Mike's. I'd have to give them time. As I began to feel a wave of exhaustion I heard the door quietly open and I looked over to see Paige. I could tell she had been waiting outside the door, and with one look at me she was up on the bed and had her arms around me.

"Paige, I think it's time to go," Jamie said suddenly and both her and Mike stood up. We'll be back tomorrow Piper, okay?" I nodded as Jamie bent down to kiss me on the forehead and they both left the room.

"You're still my sister," Paige whispered, and I hugged her tighter as tears fell silently from my eyes.

"And you're still mine," I whispered back.

"I'm taking good care of Kit," Paige then said, and I looked down at her in surprise. I hadn't even thought of her. "But you'll see her when you come home," Paige continued, and I smiled. When I went home…the only thing was, I didn't know where home was anymore. "Oh, and I forgot," she continued. Reaching into her pocket, Paige pulled out something in her fist. I watched as she opened it to reveal Grams' necklace. "I kept it safe for you, and I'm giving it back, just like I promised." The sight of Grams' necklace gave me hope and I smiled.

"No," I said, stopping her with my good hand. "Give it back to me when we're all home together." Paige smiled at this, leaned up to give me a kiss on the cheek, and then hopped off the bed and to the door.

"Goodnight Piper," Paige whispered as she turned out the lights and left.

"Goodnight Paige." It was now silent in the dark room and I took a few minutes to breathe and calm down.

"We're in trouble, aren't we?" Phoebe asked meekly from her bed, and my eyes popped open at her voice. I guess we had woken her.

"I don't know," I answered. "Have you told the police anything?"

"No…the doctors wouldn't let them in earlier…I haven't said anything to anyone."

"I'd keep it that way," I replied softly.

"I figured…no one would believe us anyway." The room remained silent for at least ten more minutes before I heard Phoebe speak again. "I can tell they mean a lot to you…"

"Yeah."

"I love you Piper." These were the last words Phoebe said to me that night.

"I love you too."

The next morning I woke up early and found Phoebe still asleep. The nurse was leaning over her checking to make sure she was okay.

"Excuse me?" I whispered, and she turned around quickly at the sound of my voice.

"Piper, you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"A little better," I answered as she came over to check on me.

"Yep, you seem like you're ready to get out of here. Phoebe too."

"Really?" I asked, and she nodded. "In that case…do you think…do you think I could see my sister Prue?" Our nurse looked taken aback for a moment, but then smiled.

"Well, I don't see why not. Here, I'll help you walk over."

"Thank you, thank you so much!" I said quietly so to not wake Phoebe, and let her help me stand up. The truth was that I felt a lot better physically today. But emotionally…I still wasn't at my best. My nurse hardly had to help me out into the hall and to Prue's room next door. When we walked in I grimaced at Prue's looks, but they weren't a surprise to me. I'd seen her looking a lot worse 3 days ago. After sitting me in a chair next to Prue's bed my nurse quietly left and I was alone with her. Slowly, I reached out my hand and placed it gently over Prue's. As I looked up at her face, I was surprised to see that her eyes were open.

"Piper…" she whispered while I stared at her in shock.

"Prue…Oh my God, you're awake!" I said excitedly as I leaned in to give her a hug.

"Yeah…I woke up earlier this morning…I was just pretending to be asleep before so I wouldn't have to talk to the doctor. I wanted to see you first." Leaning back from our hug, I looked Prue over and smiled. "You okay?" she asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah, Phoebe too. We're both in the room next door. It was you that we were worried about. Do you feel okay?" Prue went quiet for a minute before answering.

"Yeah…I feel okay…I just want so badly to go home." I smiled sadly at my big sister, knowing perfectly well that that wouldn't be possible. Even after they let her out of the hospital, we couldn't stay at our house. The government wouldn't allow it.

"Prue, I should call the nurse. I want to make sure you're okay," I said quickly as I stood up. She started to protest, but I held my hand out and shook my head. "Phoebe and I will be leaving today and I want to make sure we don't leave you in terrible health."

"You're leaving…Where to?"

"The family I've been staying with…at least, I think we are. Jamie and Mike Mathews and their daughter Paige. But…now I think we might not be able to stay with them anymore. Three kids are a lot to take care of…" I looked down as I said this and frowned.

"You really care for them, don't you?" Prue asked, and I looked up at her a second later.

"Yeah…They were my family when I had no one. Paige became my friend."

"Well, no matter what happens, you'll have me. And Phoebe too."

"Thanks," I whispered. "Anyway, Jamie said the police are going to be questioning us…"

"I don't remember a thing," Prue said immediately, and I smiled at the quickness of her answer.

"It's better that way." Prue nodded at my statement as I walked over to the door and poked my head out to get a doctor. Both our nurse and Doctor Nolan were in the room minutes later and I stood back as they checked over my sister. It was so weird talking to her again after all this time and having her actually talk back to me. As Doctor Nolan and a few nurses crowded around Prue I slipped out of the room and headed back to Phoebe. She was awake when I got there and she looked relieved to see me.

"Where were you!" my little sister whined, and I laughed at her.

"Guess who woke up!" Phoebe's face lit up at my comment and I jumped onto her bed to hug her as tears started to spill from her eyes.

"Prue's awake…she's okay…" was all Phoebe could say for the next ten minutes as I held her.

"And the nurse told me this morning that we can leave today."

"Leave…where will we go?" I shrugged in response.

"I hope back home with Jamie, Mike, and Paige…but even if we can't, we'll be together. That's all that matters."

"Yeah, that's all that matters," Phoebe repeated, if only to keep her morale up.

It wasn't till later that afternoon that Phoebe and I knew what was going on. Mike walked into the room with a bag, set it down on the table, and turned towards us. I was on Phoebe's bed talking with her about Prue.

"Mike…" I said in surprise, expecting Jamie more than him.

"Hey Piper, Phoebe," he said quickly, and we waited. "I brought you guys some clothes…the hospital's releasing you." I looked at Phoebe quickly and then back at Mike. "You're both coming home with us."

"Really!" I asked, jumping off the bed and rushing forward to hug him. "Thank you so much! You won't regret this, I swear!" Mike just smiled and patted me on the head.

"This isn't permanent Piper, you should know that," he replied, but he was smiling as he said it and I knew that once we went home, we wouldn't be leaving. Phoebe just looked on with hope. It would be difficult for her to get use to the way of life I'd already lived in for six months…but I knew she could do it. She was a Halliwell after all. As I let go of Mike and walked back over to Phoebe, he spoke again. "The police also want to talk to both of you. Get dressed…I brought some clothes in that bag," he continued, pointing the brown paper bag on the table. "The police will be here soon." After Mike left I turned to Phoebe and smiled, but she was frowning.

"What about Prue…? We can't just leave her Piper." I knew Phoebe was right…but I also knew that I needed to get my baby sister out of this atmosphere and back to some sense of normality.

"We'll come visit her every day," I promised. Phoebe tilted her head in thought for a moment, a serious expression on her face that was there quite often these past few days…An expression I'd never seen before her kidnapping. Finally, she nodded and then got up to get dressed. After putting on a pair of jeans I realized that my arm was going to give me trouble. Phoebe removed the sling for me and helped me put on a T-shirt. Just the ten seconds of strain on my arm after the removal of the sling sent pain up from my elbow to my shoulder. Gritting my teeth, I waited for Phoebe to reattach the sling, and then sighed in relief when I could rest my arm down again.

"You okay?" my little sister asked, and I nodded as I looked over at her. She had on a pair of my sweatpants and a sweatshirt that were way too big for her. I guess I hadn't really realized how much weight she had lost. The clothes were so baggy that she looked lost in them. I had to laugh at her annoyed expression as she sat forcefully back on her bed and crossed her arms. It was at that moment that Mike reentered with three policemen. The questioning went quickly since we both repeated that we remembered nothing. I could tell that the policemen didn't believe us, but they eventually gave up and left.

"You two ready to go?" Mike asked with a sigh as we all stood up.

"Almost," I replied as we exited the room and I walked right into Prue's, Phoebe behind me. Her eyes were closed when we entered, but as soon as she heard us walk up to her side she opened them slightly.

"Phoebe…" Prue whispered as her vision focused on our little sister. "Look at you…" Phoebe smiled as she leaned down for a hug, maybe searching for some reassurance. No matter what I said, Prue's soothing words would always be superior. I guess it's because she's the oldest…almost like a mother to Phoebe…and even to me. "Hey now," Prue said gently as tears fell from Phoebe's eyes. "Didn't I tell you everything would turn out? Didn't I tell you we'd see Piper again? No crying now, I'm going to be fine." Phoebe pulled away slowly as Prue said these words. Her tears stopped.

"Prue, we're going home with Mike…but we'll be okay. And we're going to come visit you tomorrow," I said. Prue looked up at me for a moment before leaning up slightly. I leaned down and wrapped my arm around her. It was amazing how much strength she could give to me just by being near. When Prue leaned back onto her pillows she looked behind us at Mike, who was waiting in the doorway.

"I'll be fine you two," she then insisted. "I think I'm going to get some sleep, so don't worry about me." As Prue's tired eyes closed I pulled Phoebe away from the bed and led her over to Mike. On the whole ride back to the house I watched Phoebe. I knew she was scared and worried…and I also know that the emotions generated from her whole experience hadn't hit her yet. I wished desperately that Prue had been well enough to come home with us too…home…It was weird how I'd been calling the Mathews' house home lately. It was hard to call the empty manor home these past few weeks, but would it be different now that Phoebe and Prue were back?

As soon as we walked in the door two arms were wrapped around my waist. Looking down, I smiled at Paige and then hugged her back.

"You're home!" she then squealed as she let go of me and looked excitedly over to Phoebe, Mike, and then back to me. Jamie was standing in the kitchen doorway smiling at me, and I smiled back.

"Welcome back Piper, and welcome to our home Phoebe," Jamie said softly as she walked up to us and put her hand on Phoebe's shoulder.

"Thanks," she said quietly back. Reaching over, I took Phoebe's hand with mine and looked up at Jamie.

"Where is Phoebe staying?"

"Oh, yes! You must be tired. Let me show you girls upstairs." We walked up the stairs behind Jamie, straight down the hall, and stopped in front of a door on the left side right next to the bathroom. It was the bedroom across from mine. "Piper, I thought that you could move in here with Phoebe so Prue has a room to stay in when she gets out of the hospital." At these words I thought back to the room Phoebe and I use to share. When I looked at Phoebe I saw relief in her eyes.

"Piper is going to change rooms?" I heard Paige ask, and when I turned I saw her behind us. "Then we won't be next to each other anymore…"

"Hey, it's okay Paige. You can always visit me over here."

"Yeah, I don't mind," Phoebe added in.

"And I can always visit you in your room," I continued.

"Okay…" Paige said slowly, and even though she still seemed upset, I knew she'd get over it quickly. Meanwhile, Jamie had turned the lights on and I saw that the room was much different than I last remembered it. Before there had been boxes, old furniture, old toys, and, quite frankly, a lot of junk in the room across from mine. Now everything was cleared out and I saw how big the room actually was. A bed was lying on either side, each next to a desk and dresser. It was freshly painted white with a light blue trim and had a new fuzzy dark blue rug in the center.

"Jamie…" I whispered in disbelief. "This is…wonderful…how….?" Tears came to me eyes as I turned to her and reached forward to give her a hug.

"Mike and I had been meaning to clean out and redo this room anyway…and you need a place to sleep, so…" I just smiled as Jamie looked at me and then at Phoebe. "Phoebe…We can take you over to your house tomorrow to get some of your things…are you okay sharing with Piper until then?" Phoebe nodded mutely and Jamie frowned slightly, worried about my little sister. "Piper, I can help you move your things in here tomorrow if you need help. We should all rest tonight. Are you girls hungry?" In response, Phoebe walked forward and laid herself down on the left bed. I looked at her for a moment before returning my attention to Jamie.

"No…we're fine. We ate at the hospital before we left."

"Oh…okay…well, I'll let you two settle in. Come on Paige." I watched sadly as Jamie left and Paige reluctantly followed, and then turned my attention back to Phoebe.

"You okay Phoebs?" I asked timidly.

"Yeah," she replied after a minute, but her eyes remained closed. I sat on my new bed and watched her until her breathing eventually evened and I was sure that she was asleep.

To Be Continued…


	11. Sisters Four

Sisters Bound

Part 11 – Sisters Four

By: Silverstar03

Okay, this is the last part, I really swear this time! Thank you to everyone who has read this far. And now, here it is…

The next morning I woke up early and bolted into a sitting position. Confused, I looked around for a moment before realizing where I was. I was in my new room at the Mathews' house…home. Seeing that Phoebe was still asleep, I got up quietly and headed downstairs. When I walked into the kitchen I was surprised to find Paige sitting at the table. The clock said eight when I got up, so I had assumed that she had gone to school.

"Piper!" Paige said loudly as she jumped up from her chair in excitement.

"Shhh honey, Phoebe's still sleeping," Jamie reprimanded from her spot at the sink washing dishes. "Good morning Piper. Breakfast?"

"I made pancakes!" Paige said proudly and I smiled as she pulled them from the microwave where they were being kept warm. "Mom said I could stay home to help you move your room." Breakfast was quiet, so quiet that I could hear the clanging of the dishes in the sink and the flipping of the pages of Paige's book. I liked it that way. Thirty minutes later I returned to my new room to find Phoebe standing in front of the window looking to the back of the house.

"Hey, you hungry?" I asked. "There're pancakes downstairs."

"Oh, no," Phoebe replied, turning as she did so.

"Come on,' I said, taking her hand and dragging her to the door. "Let's see if we can find you something of mine that might fit you." Phoebe sat down on my old bed as I sorted through some of my clothes and found something that looked like it would sort of fit her. When I turned to her I found her deep in thought and I knew what she was thinking about. It was the same expression I had had on my face when I came here. She was thinking about home. "It'll get easier in time," I said softly to her as I handed her the clothes and sat down on the bed as well.

"You think?" she asked, desperation in her voice.

"I know," I answered, and smiled when she looked up at me. "I know how you feel…cause it's the same way I felt when I first came here. You're excited to go home, but afraid too. The memories that are in that house…will they haunt you? Can you stand it? It use to be a place we called home…can it ever be again?" Phoebe stared at me, her eyes wide open in shock that I had expressed in words what she had been thinking and feeling.

"It'll get easier?"

"I promise."

An hour later we were in the car and driving back to the manor. Paige was in the front seat next to Jamie and I was in the back with Phoebe. I could sense anxiety and fear coming off of her in waves. What scared me the most was her hope, because I knew there would be nothing there that would satisfy that feeling. Grams was gone, and the house was empty. When we finally got there Jamie and Paige pulled boxes out of the trunk as Phoebe and I walked into the house. I saw her face drop as we entered, so I slid my good arm around her shoulder to comfort her.

"It'll be okay," I whispered as I walked her upstairs and to our room. Seeing Phoebe in our room again gave me such joy, even if all of my belongings were no longer there. Phoebe walked slowly around, looking at all of her dusty possessions that had been left for months. I watched her for a minute before sitting down on my old bed. "Well…I guess we should start," I whispered, and Phoebe turned as I said this.

"Yeah, I guess…" she answered as she started pulling clothes out of the drawer and both Jamie and Paige came in with the boxes. I wasn't much help to them with my arm, but two hours later we had everything packed in the trunk of the car and we were off. Realizing how late it was, I immediately thought of Prue.

"Jamie, we never went to visit Prue!" I called out, panic in my voice. "We promised her we'd go…please, can we stop by?" Phoebe's head popped up at my request and I knew she was praying under her breath. Jamie looked at me in silence for a minute before sighing, nodding, and turning the car towards the hospital.

"I'll call Mike to pick you up in an hour or two when his shift ends," she told us as we hopped out of the car.

"Thank you so much," I replied, leaning in to kiss Jamie on the cheek and smile at Paige. As the car drove away I followed Phoebe into the hospital and smiled in anticipation of seeing my big sister. When we entered Prue's hospital room I was surprised to find her sitting up in bed. Then again, she was always the strong one.

"Piper! Phoebe!" she said with excitement, a smile covering her face as Phoebe ran over to give her a hug. "Rough day?" she asked my little sister, but Phoebe just kept hugging her. I smiled at my sisters for a moment before walking over to join them.

The next few days were hard. At home I stayed close to Phoebe, and every time I looked at Paige I saw her giving me a look. But…what could I do? Phoebe needed me. Prue was making a fast recovery and both Phoebe and I were counting down the days till she could leave the hospital and come home with us. It wasn't till one week later that the doctors finally relented and told us that Prue could leave. I remember the excitement I felt and the happiness that shone off of Phoebe's face. I also remember the unsettling expression that Paige's eyes held. Phoebe and I went to the manor that day to gather all of Prue's things for her. While we were alone I showed her the Book of Shadows and all of the witchcraft supplies that Grams had kept a secret from us for all of these years. Phoebe's eyes widened in curiosity as she traced her hand over the cover of the Book, and I smiled as I saw the spark in her eyes that had been missing these past few weeks. The old Phoebe was slowly, but surely, coming back to me. Mike picked us and the boxes full of Prue's things up two hours later, and after he helped us unload it into her new room I saw that Jamie was getting ready to leave. She was going to pick Prue up. Phoebe was next to her, holding onto a bag of clothes for our sister, and they were looking at me at my spot at the top of the stairs.

"You coming?" Phoebe asked, but I slowly shook my head.

"I think I'll wait here." Phoebe looked at me in confusion for a moment, but I gave her a smile and she seemed satisfied that I was okay. Jamie waved as she left and Mike disappeared into the kitchen to fix dinner. I stood alone at the top of the stairs to gather my thoughts. Prue would be coming to live here…all three of us under the same roof again. But…at the same time, I was worried. The family dynamic would change, and the person I was most worried about was Paige. I hadn't talked to her much this past week. Every second of my time had been given to Phoebe and helping her to adjust and deal. I was there when she woke up in the middle of the night from nightmares, and I was there for her to climb into bed with so she wouldn't have to be alone. I hadn't even dealt with what happened myself, since my full attention had been on my sister. Now Prue was coming home, and I worried what Paige was thinking. Taking a deep breath, I turned around and walked towards Paige's room.

"Hello? Paige?" I called as I knocked on her door and then opened it. There she was, sitting on her bed with a book on her lap and Kit sprawled out next to her. She was petting Kit out of habit and I could tell that she hadn't read a word from her book.

"Piper?" she asked, looking up as I entered. I saw a small smile form as I walked in and sat down next to her.

"Yeah, it's me," I replied. "How've you been doing? I'm sorry we haven't had much time to hang out this past week or two." Paige looked down at these words and shrugged.

"It's okay…I'm fine…" I looked at my littlest sister with guilt and then shook my head.

"No, it's not okay Paige. I'm sorry." She looked up at these words and then smiled a little.

"I have missed you."

"I've missed you too. The thing is…remember when I first came here and I was really sad?"

"Yeah, I remember. You cried in your sleep." I smiled sadly at these words as Kit walked over to sprawl over both of our laps.

"Do you remember how you were there for me? You cheered me up and let me cry on your shoulder."

"That's what sisters are for," Paige replied, and I smiled at this comment as she leaned over and wrapped her arms around me.

"Yep, that's what sisters are for. Well, Phoebe's going through the same thing as I was back then. She's lost 6 months of her life, she's lost her home, she's lost her grandmother, and she's lost everything that she's ever known. That is…except for me and Prue. She cries in her sleep too and has nightmares, just like I did. I have to be there for her. Do you understand?" Paige looked up at me when I was finished and slowly nodded.

"I hadn't thought of that…"

"And just because I have to be there for Phoebe, that doesn't mean we still can't hang out. Feel free to come into our room whenever you want. I can comfort Phoebe by myself, but two sisters are always better than one in the comforting department." I smiled as Paige realized what I was asking of her and she then flopped back on the bed, bringing Kit with her.

"You trust me to help Phoebe?" she asked, and I nodded.

"You helped me, didn't you?" Paige glanced over at me for a second before drifting back into her own thoughts.

"What about Prue?"

"Prue…" I repeated softly as I thought of my older sister. "Prue's a strong one, that she is…but she's only human. At night, when we're sleeping, I won't be able to hear my big sister. If she has a nightmare or needs someone to be there with her, you'll be the only one who can hear her since you're right next door. Will you help me look after them? I'm only asking you Paige, because you're special."

"Special?"

"Yeah…you always know the right thing to say that'll make someone else feel better. It's a gift."

"A gift…hmmnn…" I watched as Paige thought about that and then I plopped down next to her. "Okay," she finally said with a smile. "I…I don't know if your sisters will like me…or want to include me…but I'll try."

"I'm sure they'll love you," I laughed as I gave her a hug with my good arm and we both sat up again. "I told Prue how you sat with her in the hospital, and she's very grateful."

"Really?"

"Yep. And I told both of them how you were here for me when they couldn't be. They love you already." Paige smiled at these words and then reached over to pull out a drawer from the night stand next to her bed. A second later, she held out her fist and then opened it. Inside laid my grandmother's pendant necklace…the necklace that had saved us all. Reaching out, I slowly took it from her hand and stared at it. "Grams…" I whispered before reaching around my neck and clasping it tight. It felt right there. Paige closed the drawer again and then jumped up off her bed, sending Kit flying into the air. I laughed as I caught her in my lap, gave her a hug, and then let her run out the door. Paige was standing at the window looking out.

"They're here!" she said excitedly as I got up off the bed and walked over to stand behind her. "I've always wanted sisters," Paige whispered as I put my hand on her shoulder and watched Phoebe and Prue climb out of the car door.

"And here we are," I replied. "And here we are…"

THE END


End file.
